Biomass Harvesting Sustainability Webinar Series: Bird and invertebrate response to woody biomass harvest: Preliminary findings and future directions
Webinar Details
When:
Jun 4, 2014 12:00 pm US/Eastern
Length: 01:00 (hh:mm)
Advance Registration NOT required.
View now on-demand.
Presenter(s):
- Steve Grodsky - Doctoral Candidate, NC State University Wildlife and Conservation Biology Program
Virtual Event Format:
Group Viewing Available:
Harvest residue gleaned as woody biomass is predicted to be a primary feedstock for forest-based bioenergy to meet increasing renewable energy demand. Concerns regarding the sustainability of woody biomass harvests have led to the development of Biomass Harvesting Guidelines (BHGs), which typically recommend that a percentage of harvestable biomass be retained and distributed across the logging area. However, these BHGs lack technical underpinning derived from empirical research, and little is known about the response of birds and invertebrates to BHG implementation or woody biomass harvest in general. In this webinar, we present preliminary findings from 3 years of study of the effects of 6 varied woody biomass retention treatments on winter and breeding bird use of and vegetation in 8 southeastern clearcuts. We also will discuss potential response of invertebrates and conclude with future research directions.
Blue grosbeak uses woody biomass
Steve Grodsky is a Ph.D. candidate in the Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology program at North Carolina State University and a Global Change Fellow with the Department of Interior’s Southeast Climate Science Center. His research centers on the interface between renewable energy development and wildlife conservation and management. Currently, he is studying the response of birds and invertebrates to woody biomass harvest in the southeastern US. One of the goals of his research is to inform sustainable biomass harvesting guidelines specific to the Southeast. Steve earned his B.Sc. in Natural Resource Management from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey and his M.Sc. in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Wisconsin -Madison.
This webinar is part of the Biomass Harvesting Sustainability Webinar Series offered by the NC State University Forestry and Environmental Outreach Program. The Series of six webinars will present research results, policy updates, challenges and opportunities of harvesting woody biomass for energy. NC State University has been the lead partner on a four year research project designed to create a better understanding of how biomass harvesting for emerging renewable energy markets impacts ecosystem services provided by our southeastern forest lands. Other partners on this project include scientists from the University of Georgia, NGOs, and forest industry.
Funding for this project has been provided by the USDA NRI/AFRI - Managed Ecosystems Program, the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, the Biofuels Center of North Carolina, the NCDA Bioenergy Initiative, and the Southeast Climate Science Center, with in kind support from Weyerhaeuser Corp, Georgia Pacific, and Plum Creek.
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