Preference and calorific value of fuelwood species in rural populations in northwestern Patagonia

BETINA CARDOSO; ANA LADIO; SILVIA DUTRUS; MARIANA LOZADA

BIOMASS AND BIOENERGY

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2015 vol. 81 p. 514 - 520

0961-9534

Traditional knowledge of fuel species was evaluated, associating species preferences with the physicalproperties of wood and its combustibility. The physical characteristics of 21 popular firewood specieswere analyzed in three rural communities in the northwest of Patagonia. Semi-structured interviewswere carried out in 91 homes, as well as free listing and walks; samples of the woody species werecollected in each of the homes visited. We have hypothesized that the experience of gathering and usingfuelwood species, as cognitive know-how, over generations will have enabled local people to knowspecies have best fuel attributes, such as hot coals, low spark and low smoke emission. Thus, for eachsample, calorific value, density, moisture content and ash content were measured as predictive variablesof combustibility. The fuel attributes of the different woods represent physical properties for which wereanalyzed by means of the classification for Fuel Value Index (FVI) priority species in the area. Resultsindicate that the species with the highest FVI values are those mostly preferred by local people such asBerberis microphylla, Prosopis denudans, Schinus johnstonii, Lycium spp., Senecio subulatus and Schinusmarchandii. This work recommends the cultivation of energy crops of the preferred native species withhigh combustibility, to be used as bioenergy and multipurpose species.