Residential Heating Using Woody Biomass in Germany—Supply, Demand, and Spatial Implications

Ralf-Uwe Syrbe (), Tran Thuc Han, Karsten Grunewald, Suili Xiao and Wolfgang Wende
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Ralf-Uwe Syrbe: Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER), Weberplatz 1, 01217 Dresden, Germany
Tran Thuc Han: Landschaftsforschungszentrum Dresden e.V., Am Ende 14, 01277 Dresden, Germany
Karsten Grunewald: Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER), Weberplatz 1, 01217 Dresden, Germany
Suili Xiao: Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER), Weberplatz 1, 01217 Dresden, Germany
Wolfgang Wende: Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER), Weberplatz 1, 01217 Dresden, Germany

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-11

Abstract: Low-carbon energy requires more land than the non-renewable resources. This paper balances holistic assessments of the land demands for biomass heating and their ecosystem services. It is predicted that biomass will continue to play an important role in the heating sector in Germany by 2050, as it is one way to increase the use of renewable energy and reduce CO 2 emissions. To balance this out, it is important to ensure that the substitution of fossil fuels with fuelwood does not result in losses in biodiversity, natural forest, and agricultural land. Based on the observed types of fuel demand, the need for space in terms of the growing area is characterized as the corresponding land under the consideration of a given land-use type. Formulas have been applied at the federal level in Germany. The area required to supply an average German household is 0.64 ha if all the wood harvested is used for energy purposes, but this is in competition with all other types of timber use. Fuelwood from thinning alone cannot meet the domestic demand. However, a sustainable supply of woody biomass is possible if residues mainly from forestry and the wood processing industry are used, causing a land demand of 2.69 ha per house, possibly in combination with smaller shares of the above-mentioned types of use. Thus, the shares of pellets and wood chips for heating purposes should be expanded, which would also bring ecological advantages. The qualitative consideration of forest ecosystem services shows that changing the forest composition or management may increase the fuelwood supply but does not necessarily decrease forest ecological services.

Keywords: renewable energy; land demand; fuelwood; carbon sequestration; ecosystem services (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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