eucalyptus

The economic potential for Eucalyptus spp. production for jet fuel additives in the United States: A 20 year projection suite of scenarios ranging from $110 Mg-1 to $220 Mg-1 utilizing the POLYSYS model.

Eucalyptus spp. is the world’s most widely planted hardwood species. It has been established and produced successfully in warmer regions of the U.S. for decades, and is positioned for commercialization as a biomass feedstock in the U.S. South. Plantation management options for Eucalyptus as a short-rotation woody crop include both single-stem and coppicing systems, with harvests every 3-7 years with average annual yields ranging from about 4 to 14 dry tons acre-1 year-1. Current breeding efforts aim to develop freeze-tolerant varieties of commercial varieties, which are expected to expand the potential range of eucalyptus as a biomass feedstock into USDA Hardiness Zone 8.

Eucalyptus is a fast-growing tree native to Australia and could be used to supply biomass for bioenergy and other purposes along the coastal regions of the southeastern United States (USA). At a farmgate price of $66 dry Mg−1, a potential supply of 27 to 41.3 million dry Mg year−1 of Eucalyptus could be produced on about 1.75 million ha in the southeastern USA. A proposed suite of indicators provides a practical and consistent way to measure the sustainability of a particular situation where Eucalyptus might be grown as a feedstock for conversion to bioenergy. Applying this indicator suite to Eucalyptus culture in the southeastern USA provides a basis for the practical evaluation of socioeconomic and environmental sustainability in those systems. Sustainability issues associated with using Eucalyptus for bioenergy do not differ greatly from those of other feedstocks, for prior land-use practices are a dominant influence. Particular concerns focus on the potential for invasiveness, water use, and social acceptance. This paper discusses opportunities and constraints of sustainable production of Eucalyptus in the southeastern USA. For example, potential effects on sustainability that can occur in all five stages of the biofuel life cycle are depicted.

Fast growing, short-rotation tree crops provide unique opportunities to sequester carbon on phosphate-mined lands in central Florida and, if used as a biofuel, can reduce CO2emissions associated with electricity generation. Base case land expectation values (LEVs)of phosphate-mined land under Eucalyptus amplifolia (EA) forestry range from 762 to6507 $ ha-1 assuming real discount rates of 10% and 4%, respectively. Assuming 5 $ Mg-1 C, these LEVs increase from 3% to 24% with incentives for in situ carbon sequestration benefits, or 21% to 73% given in situ carbon sequestration with additional incentives for reducing CO2 emissions through the use of EA as an energy feedstock. Potential benefits from below-ground C sequestration and mine land reclamation are estimated to be worth an additional 5642–11,056 $ ha-1.