May 2013

Forest Bioenergy for Europe – what science can tell us

Andy Moffat has been active in recent weeks by contributing to the writing of this European Forestry Institute sponsored book. He will be attending a meeting of writers in Copenhagen on 13-14th May. The aim of the book is to support the research community with an opportunity to analyze the most important value chains related to forest bioenergy. It is expected that this will promote targetted research in order to further increase efficiency and competitiveness of the bioenergy industry.

STOP PRESS: The book has now been published (June 2014). Further information can be found at http://www.efinord.efi.int/portal/news/?bid=1668

Research on “Effects of Short Rotation Forestry on earthworm community development in the UK” published

This paper was posted on the Forest Ecology and Management website on Monday 4th May. The work was led by Dr N.S.S. Rajapaksha and represents a fruitful co-operation between University of Central Lancashire and Forest Research. Andy Moffat co-supervised the project. One of the most interesting findings was that native earthworms appeared very tolerant to feeding on Eucalyptus leaf litter, a result somewhat unexpected in view of the aromatic nature of Eucalyptus leaves and the well known insect repellency of their oils.

The paper can be downloaded at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2013.04.004