Sustainability of Wood as a fuel??

[likeitorlumpit]

a 20 year old stand of larch or spruce will give a good yeild of firewood, but hardwood we are never going to be sustainable and we should not be promoting hardwoods but promoting softwoods, which we have in abundance and if phytophora catches more then there will be more larch than we can throw a stick at for biomass or firewood

 

Out of interest- can you sell phytopthera infected larch as firewood- I thought the bark had to be removed to transport

I assume it dies and is felled and just lays there- anyone got more knowledge?

[skyhuck]

Out of interest- can you sell phytopthera infected larch as firewood- I thought the bark had to be removed to transport

I assume it dies and is felled and just lays there- anyone got more knowledge?

 

It can be moved by a registered haulier to a registered mill, with the bark on, any other movements the bark must be removed. As far as I know.

[pgkevet]

Whether it's wood or other biomass...as soon as you start raping the land for extreme yields you have to remember that the ash doesn't go back where it came from and it's not just carbon you burn...

[cessna]

I'd say you are mostly right cessna. I'm not telling people how they should live, but the more people there are in the world, the more difficult it will be to sustain it, along with everything else. There needs to be less people breeding. What would be your ideas on making this less of a problem than it is?

Doing away with child benefit would be a start,or the Government should only pay out for the first two children. Why ,why do some couples have 4 or 5 children and then wonder why they never have any money,as well as not thinking where the food and FUEL for there children is giong to come from in years to come. Complete short sited ignorance.

[easy-lift guy]

I thought the child credit was over and done with?. Like woodpicker said there is till plenty of coal and I donot believe the planet will be running out of forest any time soon. Man has been using wood for Thousands of years and will continue to for some time to come.

easy-lift guy

[Robied]

I think properly managed wood is sustainable but heathland clear fells have to stop and be planted rather than left small scale forestry needs to make a comeback to manage the many areas that are left people need educating as to how much wood they use even if they don't have a fire and the forestry commission need to completely change there policy's then we will have a start of reversing the damage that has been done however it will take a quite a few years to get back on track but I don't think it's to late we will never produce enough as imports are already massive but there will still be an industry

[Alycidon]

As others have said willow is probably the long term way forward. Commercial biomass pellet and chip plants are processing willow harvested with modified forage harvesters on something like a 3 year rotation. It is chipped by teh harvester, piled into heaps to dry for a few weeks then ground, dried and pelleted. Had a tour of just such a plant near Newark maybe 4 years ago.

 

I have been burning willow in my stove this week, burns well, good heat, wind blown last winter I cut and split it in April, stacked it, then brought it inside a few weeks ago.

 

A

[Able Fella]

l would like forum members views on whether you think wood is REALLY a sustainable fuel in the long term.Despite what we are being led to believe by by people brainier than me, in the forestry industry ,I can't help thinking we are using wood in this country for what ever purpose ,faster than it is growing.

I say we can plant as many trees as we like but they are still going to many years to grow to a size worth harvesting. I sell firewood myself,so say what you like.

 

Too much emphasis on hardwoods, get people educated and buying softwood, the sooner we do this the better off everyone will be, I gave a customer a net of softwood to 'give it a try', thats all they ask for now.....they have been healed!

[Sam Thompson]

a 20 year old stand of larch or spruce will give a good yeild of firewood, but hardwood we are never going to be sustainable and we should not be promoting hardwoods but promoting softwoods, which we have in abundance and if phytophora catches more then there will be more larch than we can throw a stick at for biomass or firewood

 

[likeitorlumpit]

 

we've established you can't use infected larch as firewood if bark attached so .......