Identifying the Most Suitable Areas for Hardwood Biofuels Production
Goals
Our goal is to identify the most suitable lands for hybrid polar production in the Northwest. To do so, we are using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to build a Natural Resource Lands Database. This database will be used to identify areas with the greatest potential to support poplar bioenergy farms.
Impact
This land suitability study and resulting database will help researchers understand the geographic distribution of potential poplar growing sites and the available acreage that could support a drop-in biofuels industry.
Status
Suitability data for each parcel in the project region can be accessed through a web-based mapping application (https://nrsig.org/apps/ahbnw/). This app provides suitability scores for poplar with and without irrigation, and many other attributes including: owner type, land use, land cover, and climate.
The next steps are to develop the specific criteria for the identification of preferable and suitable areas, and to work with the Feedstock Team to confirm those metrics for analysis.
