Production and utilization of forest biomass in Sicily

Abstract

In order to accomplish the Kyoto task, it is necessary to monitor and inventory the possible sources of biomass over the regional territory. In this paper the Authors examine the availability of different forest biomass sources and their dispersal all over Sicily. A raw estimation of the entity of a sustainable yield from the existing wood plantations (conifers and broadleaves) is carried out. Moreover a specific analysis is carried out on Eucalyptus plantations, present in various areas in the island, with the aim of evaluating the opportunity of using these species in Short Rotation Forestry plantations.