Volume Estimation Issue of Raw Timber at the Wood Markets in the South Mie Prefecture in Order to Accelerate an Usage of Somestic Woody Biomass as Sustainable Energy Resource

Abstract

Promoting effective use of woody biomass as sustainable energy resource is essential. Woody biomass is generally traded by weight in the wood market, but timber is traded by volume in biomass use. In recent years, a power wholesaler and a fuel supplier tend to buy timber as woody biomass in the market, because the price of timber has been dropped. In order to evaluate disadvantages for the people engaged in forestry when trading low-price timber in the market, we investigated the underestimation of log volume and related issues at two wood markets in southern Mie prefecture. As a result, the lengths of all measured logs were evaluated as short. Moreover, the estimated volume of logs calculated by the Smalian’s formula based on measured values were 1.116 to 1.444 times higher than trading volume of logs in the markets.