Cluster-based approach ‘best way’ to identify private forest resources

A CLUSTER-BASED approach is the best way to identify private forest resources that are available in Ireland to supply the wood energy market, a conference was told in Kilkenny yesterday.

Teagasc forestry researcher Brian Clifford, speaking at Bioenergy 2009, said private forestry in Ireland is reaching a point with the possibility for it to make a significant contribution to the wood energy market.

However, he told the event, jointly organised by Teagasc, COFORD and Sustainable Energy Ireland, it is necessary to quantify the wood resource from private forestry.

New research by Teagasc, funded by COFORD, seeks to provide a framework to address the issue of economies of scale amongst small forest owners. It will provide a framework to quantify the wood resource at a local level and help local wood energy users to plan their woodchip supply.

Mr Clifford said forests planted in the late 1980s and 1990s are coming to the age where thinning operations may be carried out.

However, there is very little information at local level on sourcing timber volume and identifying the plantations that will be suitable for thinning in the next five to 10 years.

To address these issues a cluster-based approach has been developed to identify the forestry areas occupying a significant proportion of the landscape, enabling a targeted approach for the maximum capture of forest information.

Results show that 43% of all private planting has taken place in just 14.5% of the national land area, indicating strong geographic trends to the west, northwest and south west of the country.

“These areas have the greatest potential to service the emerging wood energy markets,” he said