The production of biobased feedstocks (i.e., plant– or algal-based material use for transportation fuels, heat, power and bioproducts) for energy consumption has been expanding rapidly in recent years. Biomass now accounts for 4.1% of total U.S. primary energy production. Unfortunately, there are considerable knowledge gaps relative to implications of this industry expansion for wildlife.
The Wildlife Society convened an expert committee to analyze the latest scientific literature on the effects of growing, managing, and harvesting feedstocks for bioenergy on wildlife and wildlife habitat, and provide answers to questions and variables affecting bioenergy development and wildlife so that site managers might better predict consequences of managing bioenergy feedstocks.
This Technical Review is organized with respect to an ecosystems approach and tries to identify key biomass management practices within those systems, including agricultural lands and croplands; grassland ecosystems and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) grasslands; forest ecosystems; and algae and aquatic feedstocks. A PDF of this review can be downloaded for free at the link below.