IEA Bioenergy Task 43 & Long-Term Soil
Productivity International Workshop

• Register for the Conference

• View the Conference Schedule

• Submit your Paper or Poster

Workshop theme and objectives

Concerns over the current and future energy security, economic and social sustainability, and environmental impact of traditional energy sources have led to resurgence in the worldwide interest in alternative, renewable forms of energy. Bioenergy is the most widespread and oldest source of converted energy, and research and development into its expansion in modern economies is rapidly expanding. Bioenergy not only provides energy produced at local to regional scales, but many believe that it can offset greenhouse gas emissions, provide additional support for traditional and new fibre production and transport systems, and provide markets for previously unvalued fibre in certain ecosystems. However, creating a viable bioenergy sector at appropriate scales requres that we address concerns over the sustainability of ecosystem services, including but not limited to productive capacity of fibre producing systems, and the economic and social challenges related to the production, transport, and conversion of biomass to energy.

Workshop structure

This workshop will consider all land-based biomass sources from agricultural through agroforestry and short rotation crops to forestry. The indoor portion of the workshop will be organized around two days of technical sessions with plenary speakers followed by concurrent sessions providing the opportunity for submitted presentations. Each day there will be poster sessions.

The main theme and subthemes for this workshop are:

• Theme: Sustainability across the supply chain
• Subthemes: Economic sustainability of supply chains
• Sustaining soils and plant productive capacity
• Sustaining ecosystem services
• Sustainable feedstock supply systems

Technical sessions and field tours give workshop participants opportunities to share experiences, findings and directions on the environmental, economic and social sustainability of a secure biomass supply for bioenergy. Policy-makers, resource managers, forest owners, industry representatives, energy production professionals, energy users, scientists and researchers will be able to exchange information and discuss production and use of forest biomass for energy as an integral part of sustainable resource management for multiple benefits.