Analyse der stofflichen und energetischen Verwendung der Ressource Holz in Oberösterreich unter dem Aspekt konkurrierender Nutzungen sowie Ansätze zur Steigerung der Ressourceneffizienz

Forests are one of the most important regional renewable resources in Upper Austria. Over the past few years forest products have increased noticeably in importance in many applications, both in volume and in value. It is thus of interest to ask whether wood in Upper Austria is a sustainable resource. Wood is often taken directly – in other words, not via an optimized sequence of applications – into the energy sector, in which an enormous demand for wood has arisen over the past few years. This fact has affected the supply chains of the classic material sectors. A prerequisite for the efficient use of resources is the documentation and analysis of the most critical supply flows and regional value-added chains for forest products, as well as a balance sheet for wood as a raw material. In order to be able to compare the two major supply chains and to illustrate the most efficient economic and ecological uses, both material flow modeling and CO2-balance were used. The most important applications (according to the wood balance sheet) were analyzed in detail and evaluated using carbon as a reference. A contrastive investigation of carbon storage potential in material applications, based on construction material consumption in Upper Austria, and the energy applications of wood, underlines the importance of material usage prior to arrival in the energy sector. Finally, suggestions for a more efficient use of wood in Upper Austria are listed with examples. Methods are drawn from the basic principles of environmental economics – circular flow, as well as the sequential extension of use-life to ensure the enduring supply of wood as a raw material.