ABSTRACT
The sustainable production of biomass as feedstock for biofuels, bioproducts, and bioenergy is a critical national priority due to concerns about energy security, environment and human health, rural economic development, and the need to diversify products and markets for the forestry and agriculture sectors. Biomass can come from a variety of sources including forests, agricultural crops, residues from the agriculture and forestry sectors, and dedicated woody or herbaceous crops. A recent study indicates that under a high yield scenario 1.2 billion oven dry tonnes (odt) of biomass could be produced in the U.S. by 2030 in addition to the production of food and fibre to meet traditional needs (Perlack et al. 2005). Under the conditions in this scenario, forestry resources will supply almost 27 per cent of this biomass. The agriculture sector will supply the rest. Perennial woody and herbaceous energy crops are included in the biomass from agriculture and would provide 3.41 million dry tonnes of biomass by 2030, which is about 35 per cent of the annual production from agricultural sources. Their deployment will put over 24 million hectares (ha) of land into production, create thousands of rural jobs, and produce several environmental benefits.
