Impact of Increased Pellet Production on Feedstock Allocation and Carbon Flux in the SE US

This study analyses the spatially explicit impact of future demand scenarios for pellets and other wood fiber products on the allocation of forest feedstock. This will be analysed for the Southeast of the United States (SE US), until 2030. This study explores the impact of increased levels of pellet production on feedstock consumption and carbon flux at different regional levels. The impact of increased pellet production must be assessed within the framework of the existing forest products system. The combination of an integrated systems perspective with a spatial resolution high enough to allow for detailed analysis of regional differences will provide valuable information on the regional impact of increased pellet production. A spatially explicit systems analysis of the US forest sector, including projected demand developments of pellets as well as other sectors has not been done yet, and is essential when discussing the sustainability implications of bioenergy production. The comparison of results of scenarios with and without logging residues and the scenarios with economic- and carbon-based expansion of new pellet production will show the impact of policy interventions