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The purpose of this study was to contribute to filling the knowledge gap in public opinion and knowledge about forest and its certification in Japan, as well as to identify key elements and the possible role of public opinion within integrated bottom-up policies, bridging the sectors of forest, environment and energy. For the study 1930 questionnaires were disseminated in a small town in early 2007. Results from the statistical analysis indicated that forest was perceived as an ecosystem with a protective function against e.g. soil erosion or flooding, rather than a place that might serve for wood production and providing jobs. Forest certification and bioenergy from forest were identified as key elements for future integrated bottom-up policies that need to concentrate on facilitating the linkage between forestry and renewable energy as well as on promoting environmentally sound management and forest certification. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Spaceborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) enables us to obtain information about vertical forest structure directly, and it has often been used to measure forest canopy height or above-ground biomass. However, little attention has been given to comparisons of the accuracy of the different estimation methods of canopy height or to the evaluation of the error factors in canopy height estimation. In this study, we tested three methods of estimating canopy height using the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) onboard NASA’s Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat), and evaluated several factors that affected accuracy. Our study areas were Tomakomai and Kushiro, two forested areas on Hokkaido in Japan. The accuracy of the canopy height estimates was verified by ground-based measurements. We also conducted a multivariate analysis using quantification theory type I (multiple-regression analysis of qualitative data) and identified the observation conditions that had a large influence on estimation accuracy. The method using the digital elevation model was the most accurate, with a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 3.2m. However, GLAS data with a low signal-to-noise ratio (⩽10.0) and that taken from September to October 2009 had to be excluded from the analysis because the estimation accuracy of canopy height was remarkably low. After these data were excluded, the multivariate analysis showed that surface slope had the greatest effect on estimation accuracy, and the accuracy dropped the most in steeply sloped areas. We developed a second model with two equations to estimate canopy height depending on the surface slope, which improved estimation accuracy (RMSE=2.8m). These results should prove useful and provide practical suggestions for estimating forest canopy height using spaceborne LiDAR. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We conducted a spatial evaluation of forest biomass usage using a geographic information system (GIS) for the Japanese town of Yusuhara. In Japan, over 60% of the land is covered with forest, of which at least 40% is artificial forest. However, because of high labor costs, the profitability of forestry is decreasing, so timber cultivation is not done to the extent that it could be, and thinning has to be subsidized. Under these circumstances, much of the forest is deteriorating. Most of the thinning is accounted for by throwaway thinning, in which the resulting wood is not used. However, with the steep rise in oil prices and the intensification of global warming concerns, expectations are rising for the use of biomass energy from thinned timber that has previously been discarded. If thinned timber, logging residues, and offcuts are utilized for biomass energy and their economic value becomes apparent, profitability will improve for both final cutting and thinning. And in addition to forestry activities being invigorated, it will be possible for some of the deteriorating forests (which have associated dangers such as landslides) to recover. However, using thinned timber and logging residues is problematic in that profitability is affected by harvesting costs. Harvesting costs are largely determined by geographic factors and are higher for more distant stands. Accordingly, in this article, operational costs for different stands are calculated using GIS and matched with total demand in the subject region. In addition, stands with lower operational costs are identified and an investigation of a highly feasible use of forest biomass is carried out. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]