Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

1. Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

2. Objectives • Describe the Southern Forest. • Discuss the demographics and social conditions of the Southern United States. Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

3. Outline • The South • Area • Social Conditions • Economy • Potential Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

4. Outline • The Southern Forest • Ownership • Forest Types • Physiography • Climate • Soils Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

5. Area of the South • 13 States • Alabama • Georgia • Kentucky • Mississippi • Oklahoma • Tennessee • Virginia • Arkansas • Florida • Louisiana • North Carolina • South Carolina • Texas Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

6. Social Conditions • 95 million people • Approximately 25% rural • Rural area • 60% of counties, parishes Source: Economic Research Service, 2004 Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

7. Social Conditions • Median income = less than average • High unemployment • High poverty • Less than average education level Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 1999 Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

8. Economy • Forestry in the South provides: • $83 billion in output value • 60% of US timber supply • 1/3 of wood products jobs • 6% of Southern jobs are in wood products Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

9. The Southern Forest • 214 million acres of forest land • 201 million timberland • 13 million reserved and other forest land Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

10. Biomass Potential • Hard to measure • Dependent on forest characteristics and management • Not all available biomass is economically recoverable • Forest Inventory Analysis Data • http://srsfia2.fs.fed.us/ Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

11. BiomassPotential Table 1. Wood-related biomass sources in the South Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

12. Bioenergy Potential • IF trees and sawmill residues being used to produce wood pulp were converted to ethanol • THEN 6.5 billion gallons of transportation fuel would be added to the nation’s supply • This would fuel approximately 11 million vehicles for 1 year. (Based on average consumption of 600 gallons/year, EIA 2005) Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

13. Bioenergy Potential • IF the difference between peak harvest (200 million green tons) and the current harvesting rate (162 million green tons) • THEN 1.5 billion gallons of ethanol would be produced • This would fuel approximately 2.5 million vehicles for 1 year. (Based on average consumption of 600 gallons/year, EIA 2005) Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

14. Capacity (MW) 300 or above (9) 200 to 299 (7) 100 to 199 (12) 50 to 99 (4) 0 to 49 (18) Bioenergy Potential • 40 million dry tons of recoverable logging residues in the US • Approximately 20 million dry tons in the South • Each Southern state could produce at least 100 MW of electricity using logging residues Source: Gan and Smith 2006 Operational power/electricity capacity from logging residues by state Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

15. Ownership • 69% - Non-industrial private individuals • 20% - Forest industry • 11% - Public timberland • 6% - National forest • 5% - Other public lands Source: Wear and Greis, 2002 Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

16. Forest Types • Planted Pine • Natural Pine • Mixed Oak-Pine • Upland Hardwood • Lowland Hardwood Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

17. Planted Pine • 30 million acres • Artificially regenerated Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

18. Natural Pine • 34 million acres • Naturally regenerated Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

19. Mixed Oak-Pine • 30 million acres • Majority are upland oaks • Pines make up 25-50% of stocking Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

20. Upland Hardwoods • 75 million acres • Classed as: • Oak-Hickory • Maple-Beech-Birch Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

21. Lowland Hardwoods • 30 million acres • Classed as: • Oak-Gum-Cypress • Elm-Ash-Cottonwood • Palm • Other tropicals Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

22. Physiography • 7 regions • Coastal Plain • Piedmont Province • Blue Ridge Province • Ridge and Valley Province • Appalachian Plateaus • Interior Low Plateaus • Interior Highlands Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

23. Coastal Plain • West Gulf Coastal Plain • East Gulf Coastal Plain • Lower Mississippi Alluvial Plain • Atlantic Coastal Plain • Florida Peninsula Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

24. Piedmont Province • Eastern foothills of the Appalachians • Elevations from 300-1200 feet • Rolling hills, valleys, isolated rock features Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

25. Blue Ridge Province • Southern Appalachians to Georgia • Elevations from 1000-4000 feet • Most rugged topography east of the Rocky Mountains • Prized for isolation Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

26. Ridge and Valley Province • Between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Plateaus • 50-75 miles in width • Valleys dominated by agriculture Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

27. Appalachian Plateaus • Uplifts within the Southern Appalachian Mountains • Elevations from 500-1000 feet Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

28. Interior Low Plateaus • West of the Appalachian Plateaus, parallel to the Appalachians • Basins created by erosion Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

29. Interior Highlands • Arkansas and Oklahoma • Ozark Plateaus • Elevations from 2200 feet • Ouachita Province • Elevations from below 1000-2600 feet Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

30. Climate • Humid subtropical climate • Growing season > 180 days • Precipitation averages 40-60 inches annually • Can suffer “dry spells” Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

31. Soils • Primary Southern soils • Alfisols • Ultisols • Inceptisols • Vertisols • Minor soils • Histosols, Entisols, Mollisols, Spodosols Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

32. Alfisols • Western areas of Southern forests • Well-developed, strongly weathered • Under native deciduous forests • Highly fertile Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

33. Inceptisols • Eastern regions of Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Virginia • Young soils at beginning of development • Located on steep slopes, young geomorphic formations, and resistant parent materials Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

34. Ultisols • Dominant soil in the Southern forest • Red clay soils • Formed under forest canopy • Acidic in nature • Productive under good management Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

35. Vertisols • Eastern Mississippi, Western Alabama, Texas • Shrink-swell soils • 50-75% clay content Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

36. Conclusions • The Southern forest can be a source of a large renewable energy supply. • Physiographic conditions throughout the South are ideal for producing biomass for bioenergy. Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

37. Photo Credits Slide 5: Chyrel Mayfield, Texas A&M University Slide 9: Wear and Greis, U. S. Forest Service Southern Research Station Slide 14: C. Darwin Foster, Texas A&M University Slide 15: C. Darwin Foster, Texas A&M University Slide 16: C. Darwin Foster, Texas A&M University Slide 17: C. Darwin Foster, Texas A&M University Slide 18: Chris Evans, University of Georgia, forestryimages.com Slide 19: Chyrel Mayfield, Texas A&M University Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

38. Photo Credits Slide 20: Chyrel Mayfield, Texas A&M University Slide 21: Chyrel Mayfield, Texas A&M University Slide 22: Chyrel Mayfield, Texas A&M University Slide 23: Chyrel Mayfield, Texas A&M University Slide 24: Chyrel Mayfield, Texas A&M University Slide 25: Chyrel Mayfield, Texas A&M University Slide 26: Chyrel Mayfield, Texas A&M University Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource

39. Photo Credits Slide 29: USDA, NRCS Slide 30: USDA, NRCS Slide 31: USDA, NRCS Slide 32: USDA, NRCS Module 2: The Southern Bioenergy Resource