The contribution of forest biomass to Canada’s energy production is small but growing. As the forest bioenergy industry in Canada expands, there is growing interest in more sustainably managing the wood ash that is generated as a by-product. Despite being rich in nutrients, wood ash is usually landfilled in Canada. Soil applications of ash in Canadian forests could be used to mimic some of the effects of wildfire, to replace nutrients removed during harvesting, to counteract the negative effects of acid deposition, and to improve tree growth. At present, the provincial and territorial processes for obtaining regulatory approval to use wood ash as a forest soil amendment can be challenging to navigate. Furthermore, the costs for obtaining approval and transporting and applying wood ash to the soil can render landfilling a more cost-effective method of ash management. To ensure that wood ash applications in Canadian forests are conducted safely, effectively, and efficiently, experience from European countries could provide a useful starting point for developing best practices. The results of Canadian research trials will assist policy makers and forest managers in refining management guidelines that encourage soil applications of wood ash as a forest management tool while protecting the ecology, water quality, biodiversity, and productivity of Canadian forests.

Climate-influenced changes in fire regimes in northern temperate and boreal regions will have both ecological and economic ramifications. We examine possible future wildfire area burned and suppression costs using a recently compiled historical (i.e., 1980–2009) fire management cost database for Canada and several Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) climate projections. Area burned was modelled as a function of a climate moisture index (CMI), and fire suppression costs then estimated as a function of area burned. Future estimates of area burned were generated from projections of the CMI under two emissions pathways for four General Circulation Models (GCMs); these estimates were constrained to ecologically reasonable values by incorporating a minimum fire return interval of 20 years. Total average annual national fire management costs are projected to increase to just under $1 billion (a 60% real increase from the 1980–2009 period) under the low greenhouse gas emissions pathway and $1.4 billion (119% real increase from the base period) under the high emissions pathway by the end of the century. For many provinces, annual costs that are currently considered extreme (i.e., occur once every ten years) are projected to become commonplace (i.e., occur once every two years or more often) as the century progresses. It is highly likely that evaluations of current wildland fire management paradigms will be necessary to avoid drastic and untenable cost increases as the century progresses.

The growing demand for bioenergy has raised concerns about the sustainability of intensive forest biomass removal. Less attention has been paid to the ash generated when forest biomass is combusted to produce energy. In Canada, this ash is often landfilled, but in some countries, wood ash is applied to the soil to maintain or improve soil fertility and forest health. AshNet is a network of Canadian scientists, foresters, policy makers and industry representatives that has formed to address opportunities for and challenges to the use of wood ash as a forest soil amendment. To date, AshNet collaborators have produced a guide to navigating the regulatory approval process, and completed a techno-economic analysis of the costs associated with landfilling wood ash versus using it as a forest soil amendment. Practical methods for optimizing ash quality and applying it on forested sites are being investigated. Applications of wood ash are also being examined as a tool for emulating some of the effects of wildfire on soil chemistry. The results of research trials established by AshNet collaborators across Canada will be shared to help develop and refine forest management policies and practices surrounding soil applications of wood ash. Updates on AshNet's activities are available at (http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/projects/140 (English); http://scf.rncan.gc.ca/projets/140?lang=fr_CA (French)).

The Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis Motschulsky) continues to pose a significant risk to deciduous forests around the world. We assess Asian longhorned beetle-related risks in eastern Canada by generating current and future climate suitability maps, import-based likelihood of introduction estimates for each urban center in our study area, and potential economic impacts in both urban and natural settings. For the current period, climatic suitability for Asian longhorned beetle was highest in southern Ontario, but was projected to expand significantly northward and eastward by midcentury. High likelihood of Asian longhorned beetle introduction was associated with large urban centers, but also smaller centers with high levels of pest-associated imports. Potential costs for the removal and replacement of Asian longhorned beetle-impacted street trees ranged from CDN$8.6 to $12.2 billion, with the exact amount and city-level ranking depending on the method used to calculate risk. Potential losses of merchantable maple (Acer) timber were estimated at CDN$1.6 billion using provincial stumpage fees and CDN$431 million annually when calculated using a combination of economic and forestry product statistics. The gross value of edible maple products, which could potentially be affected by Asian longhorned beetle, was estimated at CDN$358 million annually. These values can help inform the scale of early detection surveys, potential eradication efforts, and research budgets in the event of future Asian longhorned beetle introductions.

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Burning forest biomass from renewable sources has been suggested as a viable strategy to help offset greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the energy generation sector. Energy facilities can, in principle, be retrofitted to produce a portion of their energy from biomass. However, supply uncertainties affect costs, and are an important impediment to widespread and sustained adoption of this strategy. In this paper, we describe a general approach to assess the cost of offsetting GHG emissions at co-generation facilities by replacing two common fossil fuels, coal and natural gas, with forest harvest residue biomass for heat and electricity production. We apply the approach to a Canadian case study that identifies the price of GHG offsets that could make the use of forest residue biomass feedstock attractive. Biomass supply costs were based on a geographical assessment of industrial harvest operations in Canadian forests, biomass extraction and transportation costs, and included representation of basic ecological sustainability and technical accessibility constraints. Sensitivity analyses suggest that biomass extraction costs have the largest impact on the costs of GHG emission offsets, followed by fossil fuel prices. In the context of other evaluations of mitigation strategies in the energy generation sector, such as afforestation or industrial carbon capture, this analysis suggests that the substitution of fossil fuels by forest residue biomass could be a viable and reasonably substantive short-term alternative under appropriate GHG emission pricing schemes.

We assess risks posed by oak wilt—a disease caused by the fungal pathogen Bretziella fagacearum. Though not currently found in Canada, our distribution models indicate that suitable climate conditions currently occur in southern Ontario for B. fagacearum and two of its main insect dispersal vectors, Colopterus truncatus and Carpophilus sayi. Climate habitat for these species is projected to expand northward under climate change, with much of the oak range in eastern Canada becoming climatically suitable within the next two decades. Potential costs for the removal and replacement of oak street trees ranged from CDN$266 to $420 million, with variation related to uncertainty in costs, rate of tree replacement, and city-level estimates of oak street tree density. The value of standing oak timber in eastern Canada was estimated at CDN$126 million using provincial stumpage fees and as a CDN$24 million annual contribution to national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) when calculated using a combination of economic and forestry product statistics. These values can help inform the scale of eradication and/or management efforts in the event of future oak wilt introductions.

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