Forest-wood: what resources for what products?

Innovative materials, biomass-derived fuels, building materials.. new wood uses are developing which can have a positive impact on greenhouse gas emissions, especially when wood replaces fossil fuels. From a social point of view, new jobs could be created in classical sectors of the wood products industry as well as in new sectors of the green economy. However, such a development of the wood resource exploitation may lead to a sensible increase of wood harvesting and may impact forests sustainability. Some beneficial aspects of forest ecosystems, like water purification or species diversity protection, may be threatened as well. This first colloquium of agronomic innovation centers treats of some developing uses of forests products and on their possible - positive or negative - environmental impact. Five papers of this conference are analysed separately which treat of the impact of climate change on forests productivity, exploitation and carbon sequestration, and on the role of forestry in energy and environmental policies