1. Wood energy in Europe and France

1.1 Sustainable management and life cycle

Wood, a natural product composed mainly of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, is potentially a fuel and therefore a source of thermal energy. Thanks to its plant origin, wood is one of the most renewable energies in France and Europe. Most wood comes from forests whose carbon cycle is described in figure 1 . In temperate zones, it is assumed that forests fix an average of 3 t · ha ^–1 · an ^–1 of carbon (from 2.4 to 4.3 t · ha ^–1 · an ^–1 )...