The main objective of this work was to identify and analyze the potential of forest biomass of Eucalyptus sp. such as thermal energy source for industrial use in place of fossil fuels. Two cases were analyzed: the first one estimated the total demand for forest biomass to replace the main fossil fuels in Brazilian industrial sector, with scenarios of 100, 75 and 50% replacement; in the second, it was calculated the cost of each fuel for producing ton of industrial steam (thermal energy) for a dairy industry, in order to verify the competitiveness of forest biomass compared to fossil fuels. The results showed that the areas demanded to replace 100, 75 and 50% of the analyzed fossil fuels were, respectively, 2.9, 2.2 and 1.5 million planted forests hectares, and the steam ton cost ratio using the woodchips was at least 34% lower than with other fuels, which corroborates the substitution potential in this sector.

The main objective of this study was to analyze the contribution of forestry sector for the increase of revenues of Minas Gerais state municipalities during the period 2008-2013, using appropriate statistical analysis. Forestry is an important economic activity of this state, mainly through reforestation of Eucalyptus and Pinus genres. According to the work’s hypotheses, statistical procedures were performed comparing groups of municipalities with 5% and 10% or more of their area destined to forest plantations. The main results showed that: for 134 municipalities with 5% or more of forestry area, a linear relationship was observed between the Production Value of Silviculture and the collection of Tax on Rural Territorial Property (ITR), with the Gross Added Value of Agriculture in the period 2008-2013. Greater participation of forestry revenues on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of those municipalities was also observed. For 57 municipalities with 10% or more of forestry area, there was an improvement in the Tax and Economic Development Index (IDTE). Therefore, it can be affirmed that silviculture caused positive impacts for taxes collection and revenues related to the productive sector for the municipalities with larger area of forest plantations.

O objetivo deste estudo foi comparar as propriedades da madeira e do carvão vegetal de Eucalyptus sp., provenientes de dois sistemas silviculturais (replantio e talhadia), além de avaliar a viabilidade econômica de ambos os sistemas, por meio dos indicadores financeiros Valor Presente Líquido (VPL), Taxa Interna de Retorno (TIR) e Payback. O estudo foi realizado em uma empresa produtora de carvão vegetal, localizada no município de Itamarandiba, Minas Gerais, Brasil. Os resultados demonstraram que as madeiras provenientes do sistema de talhadia apresentaram menor incremento médio anual e maior relação cerne/alburno, produzindo um carvão mais friável e com menor produtividade em comparação ao sistema replantio. Em relação à análise econômica, ambos os sistemas foram viáveis economicamente, com TIR maior que a taxa de desconto e VPL positivo. Comparativamente, os resultados econômicos do sistema de talhadia foram um pouco melhores, apresentando menor vulnerabilidade na análise de sensibilidade quanto a flutuações do preço de carvão. A opção pela talhadia pode ser interessante para o produtor em função de seu menor dispêndio financeiro e dos resultados econômicos satisfatórios, embora com menor qualidade do produto madeireiro.