EnerTree

General System description

System name: EnerTree

Brief overview

The EnerTree decision support program is a unique tool concerning the utilisation of forest fuel for energy production. It aims to assist the forest owners to decide whether they should harvest forest residues on their forest site and, if they decide to do so, what fuel recovery option will be the most beneficial for them.

EnerTree logo

Scope of the system

The main objective of the DSS is to give the non-industrial forest owners comprehensive information about the benefits and limitations of different forest fuel harvesting options. The program should lead the forest owner to get sufficient information for making a sound decision. Supported by the latest research results produced as part of the Wood-En-Man project as well as other projects, the program acts as an outlet of this latest research results.

The decision support program aims to act as a set of guidelines for forest residues harvesting, taking ecological aspects into consideration, warning of excessive nutrient depletion and recommending fertilization when required.

System origin

• It was developed by the Finnish Forest Research Institute (Metla).
• Currently is available for Finnish forests, but it aims to be extended to all the other countries belonging to the Wood-En-Man project as soon as models from this countries become available.

Support for specific issues

This DSS cares for forest residues harvesting and its consequences.

Support for specific thematic areas of a problem type

• Silvicultural
• Certification
• Conservation
• Restoration
• Development choices / land use zoning
• Policy/intervention alternatives
• Sustainability impact assessment (SIA)

Capability to support decision making phases

• Intelligence:

  at this moment forest managers have a large number of options forest fuel management, but they have limited knowledge of the potential impact of these options on the forest ecosystems.

• Design:

  different harvesting management alternatives are seen.

• Choice:

  different results are shown for each feasible solution.

• Monitor:

  not included.

Related systems

This decision support tool is part of the Wood-En-Man (wood for energy — a contribution to the development of sustainable forest management) project, which is a joint project of seven different research institutes in seven different countries.

Data and data models

EnerTree data input dialog box screenshot

EnerTree screenshot showing stand information

Typical spatial extent of application

Results are shown at a stand level.

Type of information input from user (via GUI)

Location, site, and stand data are provided by users following dialog boxes' instructions. Then, the silvicultural treatment of the stand is chosen among two possibilities: immediate harvesting, or stand growing till reaching a maturity age and then carrying out the harvesting. Also, some parameters such as prices of timber and residues, costs of regeneration, or the technical effectiveness of residues recovery can be modified.

Models

EnerTree screenshot showing the evolution of a simulation

Forest models

Based on the input data, a diameter distribution for the forest stand is estimated with the 3-parameter Weibull-function. Thus, the distribution enables the calculation of the stand characteristics on a tree level for each diameter class utilizing tree-level models.

The current version of the program deals with monocultures of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Norway spruce (Picea abies), but in the future Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) and Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) will also be options.

Outputs and Decision Support

EnerTree screenshot showing the simulation outputs for three different scenarios

Definition of management interventions

Four forest owners alternatives, scenarios, are evaluated:

• no extraction of residues
• extraction of fresh residues (branches and needles)
• extraction of fresh residues and fertilization
• extraction of dried residues (only branches, without needles)

So, forest owners can compare these alternatives under economical and ecological criteria, leading them to choose the best available solution. The parameters that can be compared are:

Volumes	Economics	Nutrients	Biodiversity	Other
Amount of residues	Revenue from sales	Contents and balance of nutrients	Effect of woodfuel harvesting on biodiversity	Insect pests
Energy potential	Saving/costs due to woodfuel harvesting	Removal of nutrients	Recommendations	Carbon contents and fluxes
	Subsidies for silviculture and woodfuel harvesting	Need of compensation fertilization		Fossil fuel savings

EnerTree not only show comparative values, the program provides the user with a recommendation whether or not the residues should be harvested due to the soil conditions and if it is necessary to fertilize the stand after the harvesting operation.

Besides, there is a "Help and Info" section that provides the users with a great amount of information and a photo gallery illustrating the forest residues harvesting process and its consequences.

Typical temporal scale of application

Operational and tactical planning.

Types of decisions supported

• Management level
  • administrative decisions
  • operating control decisions
• Management function
• planning decisions
  • organizing decisions
  • command decisions
  • control decisions
  • coordination decisions

System

System requirements

• Operating Systems: Microsoft® Windows® OS
• Other software needed: Microsoft® Excel®
• Development status: version 2.0 is finished

Architecture and major DSS components

EnerTree is built within Microsoft Excel using Visual Basic® for Applications (VBA).

Usage

The main objective users of the program are forest owners, nevertheless, scientific community, forestry students, forest industries and legislators might found it appealing.

User interface

EnerTree tries to show a friendly interface, and does not require lot of knowledge, being data input requirements easily available at forest management plans or similar documents.

References

External resources

• PASANEN, K. (2005): EnerTree - A Decision Support Tool for Forest Energy Utilisation. Biomass Production: Energy from Forestry and Agriculture. Elgin, Scotland 21st-22nd November 2005 (Oral communication) (pdf avialable).
• PASANEN, K., I. STUPAK, D. RÖSER, A. ASIKAINEN et K. RAULUND-RASMUSSEN (2008): EnerTree – Decision Support Tool To Analyse Forest Biomass Extraction Scenarios. In RÖSER, D., A. ASIKAINEN, K. RAULUND-RASMUSSEN et I. STUPAK (Eds.): Sustainable Use of Forest Biomass for Energy: a Synthesis with Focus on the Baltic and Nordic Region. Dordrecht: Springer.
• RÖSER, D., K. PASANEN, et A. ASIKAINEN (2006): Decision-support program ‘‘EnerTree’’ for analyzing forest residue recovery options. Biomass and Bioenergy, 30, 326–333.