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Wood fuel has become central in environmental policy and decision-making processes in cross-sectoral areas. Proper consideration of different types of woody biomass is fundamental in forming energy transition and decarbonization strategies. We quantified the development of theoretical (TPs) and sustainable (SPs) potentials of wood fuel from forests, trees outside forests, wood residues and waste wood in Switzerland for 2020, 2035 and 2050. Ecological and economic restrictions, timber market situations and drivers of future developments (area size, tree growth, wood characteristics, population growth, exporting/importing (waste wood)) were considered. We estimated a SP of wood fuel between 26.5 and 77.8 PJ/a during the three time points. Results demonstrate that the SP of wood fuel could be significantly increased already in the short term. This, as a moderate stock reduction (MSR) strategy in forests, can lead to large surpluses in SPs compared to the wood fuel already used today (~36 PJ/a), with values higher by 51% (+18.2 PJ) in 2020 and by 59% (+21.3 PJ) in 2035. To implement these surpluses (e.g., with a cascade approach), a more circular economy with sufficient processing capacities of the subsequent timber industries and the energy plants to convert the resources is required.
Matthias Erni; Vanessa Burg; Leo Bont; Oliver Thees; Marco Ferretti; Golo Stadelmann; Janine Schweier. Current (2020) and Long-Term (2035 and 2050) Sustainable Potentials of Wood Fuel in Switzerland. Sustainability 2020, 12, 9749 .
AMA StyleMatthias Erni, Vanessa Burg, Leo Bont, Oliver Thees, Marco Ferretti, Golo Stadelmann, Janine Schweier. Current (2020) and Long-Term (2035 and 2050) Sustainable Potentials of Wood Fuel in Switzerland. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (22):9749.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMatthias Erni; Vanessa Burg; Leo Bont; Oliver Thees; Marco Ferretti; Golo Stadelmann; Janine Schweier. 2020. "Current (2020) and Long-Term (2035 and 2050) Sustainable Potentials of Wood Fuel in Switzerland." Sustainability 12, no. 22: 9749.
We developed a conceptual framework to quantify the effects of ecological and economic constraints on the spatio-temporal availability of wood fuel from forests. Based on the Swiss National Forest Inventory and the forest management models MASSIMO and HeProMo, a cascade of wood fuel potentials was simulated over a 40-year period for three forest management scenarios and two wood fuel market situations as well as with and without subsidies for managing protection forests. Non-energy material use and ecological constraints greatly reduce the theoretical potential (TP), or wood production, of 9–16 M m3/a or 67–118 PJ/a to an ecologically sustainable potential of about one half to one third of TP. Additionally, economic constraints further reduce wood fuel availabilities to one third to one fifth of TP, which represents the ecologically and economically sustainable potential (1.2–5.3 M m3/a or 10–41 PJ/a). Compared to the current forest management scenario, scenarios to reduce growing stock increase additional available wood fuel amounts two- to seven-fold to non-trivial 1–14 PJ/a, predominantly in the short term. Favorable wood fuel markets increase availabilities by ~22%, and subsidies by ~25%, particularly in the alpine regions. The Central Plateau and Jura are the most promising regions for expanding wood fuel mobilization, where untapped potentials are greatest and dependence on subsidies lowest. Wood fuel potentials are flexible over time and are highly sensitive to wood and energy prices. Reducing growing stocks is a reasonable strategy to mobilize more wood fuel during the energy transition to bridge provisioning gaps of other renewables.
Oliver Thees; Matthias Erni; Renato Lemm; Golo Stadelmann; Eric K. Zenner. Future potentials of sustainable wood fuel from forests in Switzerland. Biomass and Bioenergy 2020, 141, 105647 .
AMA StyleOliver Thees, Matthias Erni, Renato Lemm, Golo Stadelmann, Eric K. Zenner. Future potentials of sustainable wood fuel from forests in Switzerland. Biomass and Bioenergy. 2020; 141 ():105647.
Chicago/Turabian StyleOliver Thees; Matthias Erni; Renato Lemm; Golo Stadelmann; Eric K. Zenner. 2020. "Future potentials of sustainable wood fuel from forests in Switzerland." Biomass and Bioenergy 141, no. : 105647.
The transition towards a reliable, sustainable, low-carbon energy system is a major challenge of the 21st century. Due to the lower energy density of many renewable energy sources, a future system is expected to be more decentralized, leading to significant changes at the regional scale. This study analyzes the feasibility of the energy transition in the Swiss canton of Aargau as an illustrative example and explores different strategies to satisfy the local demand for electricity, heat, and fuel by 2035. In particular, we assess the potential contribution of biomass. Four scenarios demonstrate what energy demand proportion could be covered by bioenergy if different priorities were given to the provision of heat, electricity, and fuel. The impact of improved conversion technologies is also considered. The results show that the sustainably available renewable energy sources in canton Aargau will probably not be sufficient to cover its forecasted energy demand in 2035, neither with present nor future biomass conversion technologies. At best, 74% of the energy demand could be met by renewables. Biomass can increase the degree of autarky by a maximum of 13%. Depending on the scenario, at least 26–43% (2500–5700 GWh) of total energy demand is lacking, particularly for mobility purposes.
Renato Lemm; Raphael Haymoz; Astrid Björnsen Gurung; Vanessa Burg; Tom Strebel; Oliver Thees. Replacing Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Power with Renewable Energy: Utopia or Valid Option? A Swiss Case Study of Bioenergy. Energies 2020, 13, 2051 .
AMA StyleRenato Lemm, Raphael Haymoz, Astrid Björnsen Gurung, Vanessa Burg, Tom Strebel, Oliver Thees. Replacing Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Power with Renewable Energy: Utopia or Valid Option? A Swiss Case Study of Bioenergy. Energies. 2020; 13 (8):2051.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRenato Lemm; Raphael Haymoz; Astrid Björnsen Gurung; Vanessa Burg; Tom Strebel; Oliver Thees. 2020. "Replacing Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Power with Renewable Energy: Utopia or Valid Option? A Swiss Case Study of Bioenergy." Energies 13, no. 8: 2051.
The sustainable supply of timber is one of the most important forest ecosystem services and a decisive factor determining the long-term profitability of forest enterprises. If timber production is to be economically viable, there must always be a way to analyse forest stands and trees felled for exploitation with regard to the wood assortments they contain. Only then can the expected timber yields, achieved by various silvicultural strategies or actions and different sorting options, be quantified with sufficient accuracy. The SorSim assortment simulator was developed for forest practitioners and forest scientists in Switzerland to realistically simulate the sorting of individual trees and entire forest stands based on defined specifications. SorSim has a simple user interface and comes in a number of different language versions (G, E, F). The software is implemented in Java, making it platform-independent. It can be downloaded for free at (https://www.wsl.ch/en/projects/sortimentsimulator-sorsim.html). This article provides an overview of how the simulator works and demonstrates its potential applications based on a practical and a scientific example. A particular practical advantage is that the composition of the assortments of the planned harvests can be estimated according to quantity and value. When used in strategic planning and especially in research, SorSim provides a basis for analysing either long-term developments in yields from forest stands or silvicultural treatment methods. Based on an even-aged and a selection forest stand, the scientific example shows how strongly the assessment of the advantageousness of two different silvicultural strategies depends on the time when the calculation was made (using historical and current assortment revenues and timber harvesting costs). In particular, the combination of SorSim with timber harvest productivity models enables differentiated forest economic insights. Various approaches for value-based optimisation in the sorting of individual trees and for the optimal allocation of harvesting activities to defined customer demands are currently being examined as further SorSim developments.
Renato Lemm; Clemens Blattert; Stefan Holm; Leo Bont; Oliver Thees. Improving Economic Management Decisions in Forestry with the SorSim Assortment Model. Croatian journal of forest engineering 2019, 41, 71 -83.
AMA StyleRenato Lemm, Clemens Blattert, Stefan Holm, Leo Bont, Oliver Thees. Improving Economic Management Decisions in Forestry with the SorSim Assortment Model. Croatian journal of forest engineering. 2019; 41 (1):71-83.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRenato Lemm; Clemens Blattert; Stefan Holm; Leo Bont; Oliver Thees. 2019. "Improving Economic Management Decisions in Forestry with the SorSim Assortment Model." Croatian journal of forest engineering 41, no. 1: 71-83.
In the energy sector, decisions and technology implementations often necessitate a mid- to long-term perspective. Thus, reliable assessments of future resource availability are needed to support the decision-making process. In Switzerland, similarly to other countries, only a limited part of the available wet biomass feedstock is currently used for anaerobic digestion. Understanding potential future trajectories of the available biomass amount is therefore essential to facilitate its deployment for energetic use and to establish adequate bioenergy strategies. Here, we utilized extensive government data, historical trends, and data from academic literature to identify relevant drivers and their trends. Starting with current biomass potential, the future availability and variation of resources was estimated by taking into account selected drivers and their projected future development. Our results indicated an increase of over 6% in available wet bioenergy resources by 2050 (from 43.4 petajoules (PJ) of primary energy currently to 44.3 PJ in 2035 and 45.4 PJ in 2050), where a Monte Carlo analysis showed that this projection is linked to high uncertainty. Manure remains by far the biomass with the largest additional potential. Possible consequences regarding the country’s pool of biogas facilities and their development are discussed.
Vanessa Burg; Gillianne Bowman; Stefanie Hellweg; Oliver Thees. Long-Term Wet Bioenergy Resources in Switzerland: Drivers and Projections until 2050. Energies 2019, 12, 3585 .
AMA StyleVanessa Burg, Gillianne Bowman, Stefanie Hellweg, Oliver Thees. Long-Term Wet Bioenergy Resources in Switzerland: Drivers and Projections until 2050. Energies. 2019; 12 (18):3585.
Chicago/Turabian StyleVanessa Burg; Gillianne Bowman; Stefanie Hellweg; Oliver Thees. 2019. "Long-Term Wet Bioenergy Resources in Switzerland: Drivers and Projections until 2050." Energies 12, no. 18: 3585.
We present an agent-based model of wood markets. The model covers softwood and hardwood markets for sawlogs, energy wood, and industrial wood. Our study region is a mountainous area in Switzerland that is close to the border, and therefore partially depends on the wood markets of the adjacent countries. The wood markets in this study region are characterized by many small-scale wood suppliers, and a mix of private and public-owned forests. The model was developed to investigate the availability of wood in the study region under different market conditions. We defined several scenarios that are relevant to policy makers and analyzed them with a focus on the two most important assortments of wood in the study region, namely, sawlogs softwood and energy wood softwood. The development of the prices and amounts sold in the scenarios are compared to a business-as-usual scenario. The scenarios were designed to investigate i) the influence of intermediaries, ii) the influence of the profit-orientation of forest owners, iii) the influence of the exchange rate, and iv) the consequences of set-asides in the study region. The presented model has a large potential to support the planning of policy measures as it allows capturing emergent phenomena, and thereby facilitates identifying potential consequences of policy measures planned prior to their implementation. This was demonstrated by discussing the scenario findings with respect to Switzerland's forestry policy objective of increasing the harvested amount of wood to the sustainable potential. We showed that a higher profit-orientation of forest owners would be beneficial for this objective, but also revealed potential conflicts of different economic goals.
Stefan Holm; Oliver Thees; Renato Lemm; Roland Olschewski; Lorenz M. Hilty. An agent-based model of wood markets: Scenario analysis. Forest Policy and Economics 2018, 95, 26 -36.
AMA StyleStefan Holm, Oliver Thees, Renato Lemm, Roland Olschewski, Lorenz M. Hilty. An agent-based model of wood markets: Scenario analysis. Forest Policy and Economics. 2018; 95 ():26-36.
Chicago/Turabian StyleStefan Holm; Oliver Thees; Renato Lemm; Roland Olschewski; Lorenz M. Hilty. 2018. "An agent-based model of wood markets: Scenario analysis." Forest Policy and Economics 95, no. : 26-36.
Clemens Blattert; Renato Lemm; Oliver Thees; Manfred J. Lexer; Marc Hanewinkel. Management of ecosystem services in mountain forests: Review of indicators and value functions for model based multi-criteria decision analysis. Ecological Indicators 2017, 79, 391 -409.
AMA StyleClemens Blattert, Renato Lemm, Oliver Thees, Manfred J. Lexer, Marc Hanewinkel. Management of ecosystem services in mountain forests: Review of indicators and value functions for model based multi-criteria decision analysis. Ecological Indicators. 2017; 79 ():391-409.
Chicago/Turabian StyleClemens Blattert; Renato Lemm; Oliver Thees; Manfred J. Lexer; Marc Hanewinkel. 2017. "Management of ecosystem services in mountain forests: Review of indicators and value functions for model based multi-criteria decision analysis." Ecological Indicators 79, no. : 391-409.
Clemens Blattert; Renato Lemm; Oliver Thees. Evaluation of Growth Simulators for Forest Management in Terms of Functionality and Software Structure Using AHP. Applications and Theory of Analytic Hierarchy Process - Decision Making for Strategic Decisions 2016, 1 .
AMA StyleClemens Blattert, Renato Lemm, Oliver Thees. Evaluation of Growth Simulators for Forest Management in Terms of Functionality and Software Structure Using AHP. Applications and Theory of Analytic Hierarchy Process - Decision Making for Strategic Decisions. 2016; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleClemens Blattert; Renato Lemm; Oliver Thees. 2016. "Evaluation of Growth Simulators for Forest Management in Terms of Functionality and Software Structure Using AHP." Applications and Theory of Analytic Hierarchy Process - Decision Making for Strategic Decisions , no. : 1.
Fairytale forests must face reality (essay) Swiss forest enterprises are finding it increasingly difficult to fulfill the demands on the forest economically. The problem is complex. To address it, we analyzed this situation from the points of view of production, industrial and new institutional economics. Swiss forest enterprises are multi-product firms. They are usually publicly owned and aim to provide crucial ecosystem services for the economy in the form of private and public goods that are mostly closely connected with the production of wood. Providing these goods can be made more efficient, especially by adopting organizational measures involving cooperation and information technologies. Another more difficult but necessary measure is to ensure the required public goods are paid for. No incentives, market-like structures or tools for this have yet been introduced. This paper is a plea for providing public goods under private-sector conditions, changing management structures accordingly, even reducing the demands on the forest and developing market-based mechanisms for paying for the public goods.
Oliver Thees. «Migros-Wald» oder Märchenwald? (Essay). Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen 2016, 167, 200 -204.
AMA StyleOliver Thees. «Migros-Wald» oder Märchenwald? (Essay). Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen. 2016; 167 (4):200-204.
Chicago/Turabian StyleOliver Thees. 2016. "«Migros-Wald» oder Märchenwald? (Essay)." Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen 167, no. 4: 200-204.
Stefan Holm; Renato Lemm; Oliver Thees; Lorenz M. Hilty. Enhancing Agent-Based Models with Discrete Choice Experiments. Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation 2016, 19, 1 .
AMA StyleStefan Holm, Renato Lemm, Oliver Thees, Lorenz M. Hilty. Enhancing Agent-Based Models with Discrete Choice Experiments. Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation. 2016; 19 (3):1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleStefan Holm; Renato Lemm; Oliver Thees; Lorenz M. Hilty. 2016. "Enhancing Agent-Based Models with Discrete Choice Experiments." Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation 19, no. 3: 1.
Market behaviour of public forest enterprises in the Cantons Graubünden and Aargau We present production-, industrial-, and institutional economic approaches to analyse the market behaviour of public forest enterprises in the Cantons Aargau and Graubünden. The goal is to improve the understanding of the market behaviour of wood market participants, and to assess the availability of wood under different conditions. The analyses are based on surveys as well as choice and trust experiments. Besides structural forest characteristics, forest economic aspects as well market structures and institutional particularities are presented. Comparing the study cantons reveals that not only the intensity of utilization varies, but also the preferred marketing channel structures. While in Graubünden about 80% of the stem wood is sold via bundling organisations and forest contractors, in Aargau direct selling prevails with about 70%. Long-term business relations dominate in both cantons. The presented results feed into a computer-based analysis of various wood market situations.
Roland Olschewski; Markus Schaller; Alexandra Dittgen; Renato Lemm; Christian Kimmich; Jelena Markovic; Oliver Thees. Marktverhalten öffentlicher Forstbetriebe in Graubünden und im Aargau. Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen 2015, 166, 282 -290.
AMA StyleRoland Olschewski, Markus Schaller, Alexandra Dittgen, Renato Lemm, Christian Kimmich, Jelena Markovic, Oliver Thees. Marktverhalten öffentlicher Forstbetriebe in Graubünden und im Aargau. Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen. 2015; 166 (5):282-290.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRoland Olschewski; Markus Schaller; Alexandra Dittgen; Renato Lemm; Christian Kimmich; Jelena Markovic; Oliver Thees. 2015. "Marktverhalten öffentlicher Forstbetriebe in Graubünden und im Aargau." Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen 166, no. 5: 282-290.
Fabian Kostadinov; Stefan Holm; Bernhard Steubing; Oliver Thees; Renato Lemm. Simulation of a Swiss wood fuel and roundwood market: An explorative study in agent-based modeling. Forest Policy and Economics 2014, 38, 105 -118.
AMA StyleFabian Kostadinov, Stefan Holm, Bernhard Steubing, Oliver Thees, Renato Lemm. Simulation of a Swiss wood fuel and roundwood market: An explorative study in agent-based modeling. Forest Policy and Economics. 2014; 38 ():105-118.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFabian Kostadinov; Stefan Holm; Bernhard Steubing; Oliver Thees; Renato Lemm. 2014. "Simulation of a Swiss wood fuel and roundwood market: An explorative study in agent-based modeling." Forest Policy and Economics 38, no. : 105-118.
Energy wood potential of the Swiss forest In this article the wood energy potential of the Swiss forest is estimated on the basis of the third Swiss forest inventory (elicitations from 2004 till 2006). The estimation is based on four scenarios of usage intensity and on two wood market situations. Furthermore, the wood energy potentials are analysed by production regions, forest ownership, strength classes, tree compartments, harvesting methods and costs. The minimum technical potential in Switzerland is 3.1 million m3 of solid wood and brushwood per year (usage scenario: “as before”, not very energy-wood-friendly market), the maximum is 7.3 million m3 per year (usage scenario: “75% more usage”, which is associated with a significant reduction in stocks; very energy-wood-friendly market). As a rough benchmark we can assume a technical potential of 4 million m3 of solid wood and brushwood, which can be used on average without any reduction in stocks. Actually about 60% of it is currently harvested. The article shows that while additional energy wood potentials can be tapped, the energy wood can only make a small contribution to the total Swiss energy production, which is moreover relatively expensive to implement. Therefore an efficient and value-added use of the resource is especially important.
Oliver Thees; Edgar Kaufmann; Renato Lemm; Anton Bürgi. Energieholzpotenziale im Schweizer Wald. Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen 2013, 164, 351 -364.
AMA StyleOliver Thees, Edgar Kaufmann, Renato Lemm, Anton Bürgi. Energieholzpotenziale im Schweizer Wald. Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen. 2013; 164 (12):351-364.
Chicago/Turabian StyleOliver Thees; Edgar Kaufmann; Renato Lemm; Anton Bürgi. 2013. "Energieholzpotenziale im Schweizer Wald." Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen 164, no. 12: 351-364.
Better decisions in forest management with the SorSim bucking simulator To be able to estimate the commercial wood assortment of forests at all times is an important requirement of economical wood production. This makes it possible to improve management decisions by quantifying the revenues of alternative silvicultural and bucking strategies. So far a functional simulaton instrument for bucking single trees and whole stands was missing in forestry and in forest science in Switzerland. The SorSim bucking simulator of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) fills this gap. SorSim is implemented in Java and is platform-independent. An overview is given how the simulator works. Two examples show applications in practice and science. Of particular value is the possibility of estimating wood assortments of planned harvesting operations based on simple timber marking protocols. Especially in science and in strategic planning, SorSim allows the analysis of the long-term development of revenues of forest stands given different silvicultural methods. Combining SorSim with IT-based harvesting productivity models provides greater insight. Further development of SorSim entails testing different optimization approaches, e.g. single tree bucking to value and whole stand bucking to order.
Renato Lemm; Stefan Holm; Oliver Thees. Bessere Produktions- und Nutzungsentscheide mit dem Sortierungssimulator SorSim. Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen 2013, 164, 301 -309.
AMA StyleRenato Lemm, Stefan Holm, Oliver Thees. Bessere Produktions- und Nutzungsentscheide mit dem Sortierungssimulator SorSim. Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen. 2013; 164 (10):301-309.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRenato Lemm; Stefan Holm; Oliver Thees. 2013. "Bessere Produktions- und Nutzungsentscheide mit dem Sortierungssimulator SorSim." Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen 164, no. 10: 301-309.
Innovative developments can be encouraged, increased in number and become more widespread by means of awards and honours and the associated financial support these bring. Taking the example of Bucheggberg (in Canton Solothurn, Switzerland), the article demonstrates how innovations arose through cooperation between practice and research, and how the presentation of the Binding Forest Award led to the realization of the innovative approach on site. It follows the further development and how transfer to other enterprises was favoured. Specifically the article describes the adaptation of the fragmented forest management to the requirements of the economy. To this end it was necessary to introduce modern information technology in the management of wood depots (Ifis Polver) and joint timber commercialisation (Ifis Uno).
Renato Lemm; Ulrich Stebler; Oliver Thees. Innovation dank Zusammenarbeit von Forstpraxis und -forschung am Beispiel Bucheggberg (SO) | Innovation thanks to cooperation between forestry practice and research taking Bucheggberg (SO) as an example. Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen 2011, 162, 59 -64.
AMA StyleRenato Lemm, Ulrich Stebler, Oliver Thees. Innovation dank Zusammenarbeit von Forstpraxis und -forschung am Beispiel Bucheggberg (SO) | Innovation thanks to cooperation between forestry practice and research taking Bucheggberg (SO) as an example. Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen. 2011; 162 (3):59-64.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRenato Lemm; Ulrich Stebler; Oliver Thees. 2011. "Innovation dank Zusammenarbeit von Forstpraxis und -forschung am Beispiel Bucheggberg (SO) | Innovation thanks to cooperation between forestry practice and research taking Bucheggberg (SO) as an example." Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen 162, no. 3: 59-64.
The focus of the 2nd forest economics seminar that took place of 6th/7th June 2005 in Münchenwiler BE was the discussion pertaining to the efficient organisation of forestry management. The theoretical basis for the discussions was the numerous building blocks of new institutional economics. The discussion of four essays and seven co-referents reveal that there is a lack of socially oriented scientific case studies in Switzerland.
Martin Hostettler; Bernhard Pauli; Torsten Pudack; Oliver Thees. Die fehlenden Fallstudien | The missing case study. Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen 2006, 157, 123 -124.
AMA StyleMartin Hostettler, Bernhard Pauli, Torsten Pudack, Oliver Thees. Die fehlenden Fallstudien | The missing case study. Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen. 2006; 157 (3-4):123-124.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMartin Hostettler; Bernhard Pauli; Torsten Pudack; Oliver Thees. 2006. "Die fehlenden Fallstudien | The missing case study." Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen 157, no. 3-4: 123-124.