New Approaches for Biomass Estimation and Monitoring

The future contribution of bioenergy to the energy supply strongly depends on its availability, in other words on the biomass potential that can be assessed from regional to global scale. Since certain biomass fractions have a low energy density, their spatial distribution is a crucial economical and ecological factor. For other biomass fractions a super-regional or global market is envisaged. Thus spatial and temporal information is vital for the future expansion of bioenergy use. This paper discuss the limits of the traditional biomass potential estimation approaches - material flow balance, site examinations and statistical surveys – in their accuracy and spatial localisation. Moreover, it shows new approaches in the potential estimation via GIS analysis (Geographic Information System) and remote sensing (RS). In addition, first results of German biomass potential estimated with help of these new approaches are shown and discussed