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Potential Availability of Wood Biomass from Urban Trees: Implications for the Sustainable Management of Maintenance Yards

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  • Marcello Biocca

    (Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’analisi dell’Economia Agraria (CREA), Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agro-Alimentari, Monterotondo, 00015 Rome, Italy)

  • Pietro Gallo

    (Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’analisi dell’Economia Agraria (CREA), Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agro-Alimentari, Monterotondo, 00015 Rome, Italy)

  • Giulio Sperandio

    (Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’analisi dell’Economia Agraria (CREA), Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agro-Alimentari, Monterotondo, 00015 Rome, Italy)

Abstract

The current energy situation requires the effective utilization of all available resources, and residual wood biomass from urban forestry may represent an excellent opportunity for increasing the presence of short-range energy sources. In urban forestry management, two main operations can provide large amounts of wood biomass: The felling and pruning of trees. These operations are carried out with two principal techniques that differ in terms of mechanization intensity (i.e., accessing the trees’ crown with mechanized aerial lifts or utilizing ropes—tree-climbing). This study has investigated 18 felling and 15 pruning yards, carried out with aerial lifts (17 yards) or tree-climbing (16 yards), most of them located in the city of Rome (Italy), one of the greenest European capitals. The operations were sampled with time studies, and five elements of work time were measured from the beginning of work to the transport of the residual biomass to the loading point, using centesimal stopwatches and video recording. The total observation time amounted to 152.0 h. The total residual biomass was assessed. The cost calculation for each yard took into account fixed, variable, and labor costs. A set of variables for each yard (including several site characteristics, trees’ size, fuel consumption, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions, energy consumption, costs of yards, biomass, and work times) was analyzed. This study can contribute to enhancing tree maintenance sustainability in urban sites and estimating the quantity of residual wood biomass obtainable from urban forestry maintenance in the city of Rome.

Suggested Citation

  • Marcello Biocca & Pietro Gallo & Giulio Sperandio, 2022. "Potential Availability of Wood Biomass from Urban Trees: Implications for the Sustainable Management of Maintenance Yards," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-16, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:18:p:11226-:d:909297
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Velázquez-Martí, B. & Sajdak, M. & López-Cortés, I., 2013. "Available residual biomass obtained from pruning Morus alba L. trees cultivated in urban forest," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 27-33.
    2. Li, Y. & Zhou, L.W. & Wang, R.Z., 2017. "Urban biomass and methods of estimating municipal biomass resources," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1017-1030.
    3. Bolund, Per & Hunhammar, Sven, 1999. "Ecosystem services in urban areas," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 293-301, May.
    4. Giorgia Bagagiolo & Vincenzo Laurendi & Eugenio Cavallo, 2017. "Safety Improvements on Wood Chippers Currently in Use: A Study on Feasibility in the Italian Context," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 7(12), pages 1-19, December.
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