OTHER RESOURCES
A Developing Bioenergy Market and its Implications on Forests and Forest Products Markets in the United States: Economic Considerations
Clutter, Abt, Greene, and Siry. National Alliance of Forest Owners. April 2010.
- Landowner response to developing markets plays an important role in meeting the future supply needs of a developing wood-to-energy sector, and understanding landowner response to market demand underscore the sustainability of the resource.
- Many U.S. forestlands are not as productive as they could be, because decreased manufacturing capacity and lower prices for pulp and paper and other forest products reduce the ability of landowners to invest in forest management.
- Given the right market incentives, forest owners can significantly increase forest productivity – particularly in plantations in the Pacific Coast and Southern regions of the United States. Intensively managed timberlands can increase productivity 150 percent, while less intensively managed timberlands could increase productivity by 75 percent.
- While emerging renewable energy markets may cause supply to be limited and prices somewhat higher in the short-run, in the medium and long-run supply catches up with demand resulting in lower supply costs.
