New information on environmental impacts of stump wood energy through 3D modelling

Tree stumps and root systems are a significant but controversial source of bioenergy in Finland due to their environmental impacts. Now Finnish and Norwegian researchers have developed a new method that can produce accurate three-dimensional (3D) models of recovered stumps and root systems. These models provide new information on the impacts of stump wood energy on the carbon sink capacity of forests, the biodiversity of forest nature and the soil structure of recovery areas. Tree stumps and root systems account for approximately 15% of the energy wood harvested from Finnish forests. Tree stumps are recovered from one in every ten clearcutting areas, totalling some 10,000–20,000 hectares annually, which is, at its highest, equivalent to an area the size of Helsinki.