Biomass crops in Alaska

"Opportunities for Woody Biomass Fuel Crops in Interior Alaska", a new paper (PDF) by Robbin Garber-Slaght, Stephen Sparrow, darleen masiak, and Gwen Holdmann explores the cultivation of willows as a woody biomass crop for fuel in Alaska. Willows are among the first woody species to colonize new flood plains; they grow prolifically for four or five years, and are followed by alders (five to ten years) and then balsam poplars, which mix with the alders and dominate for around 100 years after a floodplain is created. White spruce will follow (provided no new flood washes out the previous growth) and remain as the dominant forest for 200 to 300 years, and then are followed by black spruce.

Garber-Slaght and company evaluated growing feltleaf willow from cuttings, and their potential for harvest as biomass. Farmed biomass, they concluded, may be feasible, but their research revealed several areas in which more information is needed:

• Which species of willow or other trees or shrubs will grow the fastest and produce the largest amount of biomass?
• How long should the plants grow before coppicing?
• How much biomass will they produce in 3, 5, or 8 years?
• What types and levels of fertilizers will they need?
• What is the best way to plant the chosen species?
• How much weed control is required? Which weed control systems will leave the biomass species unharmed?
• When is the best time to harvest the biomass? In the fourth year? During the fall or winter?
• How much is a power plant willing to pay per ton? Is it cost effective to grow woody biomass as a cultivated crop?

Biomass production potential and the costs of production, harvesting, transportation, and processing need to be examined before Alaskans can know whether this option is viable.

For further reading:

"Red-hot research: student examines plants for biomass fuel," SNRAS Science & News, January 6, 2009.
• "Biomass may be the only alternative to petroleum," Todd Paris, Aurora Spring 2009.
• "Biomass Fuels: Local energy, local jobs, and community resilience," by Nancy Fresco and F. Stuart Chapin, Agroborealis (PDF), v. 40 n. 1, p. 19.
• "Sustainable energy for Interior villages?" SNRAS Science & News, February 6, 2009.