during the past four years, the study examined 80 forest type in 19 eco-regions in oregon, washington and california. it included both public and private lands private land and different forest management approaches. most people assume that wood bioenergy will be carbon- neutral,however, our research showed that the emissions from these activites proved to be more than the saving. the only exception to this, the researchers said, was if forests in high fire-risk zones become weakened due to insect outbreaks or drought, which impairs their growth and carbon sequestration, as well as setting the stage for major fires. it's possible some thinning for bioenergy production might result in lower emissions in such cases if several specific criteria are met,they said.
'if our ultimate goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emission, producing bioenergy from forests will be counterproductive, Beverly Law, a professor in the OSU said. Some of these forest management practices may also have negative impact on soils, biodiversity and habiat. these issues have not been thought out very fully.