Farmers' Utilization Patterns Of Forest-based Bioenergy,in Shaanxi

To tackle climate change and reduce dependence on fossil fuels,forest biomass as an important source of renewable energy is highly valued by many countries.China has abundant forest resources,but China develops forest-based bioenergy industry lately.By using questionnaires,this thesis investigated energies usage of farmers in 11 counties(districts)of Shaanxi and analyzed 17 influencing factors in four categories of their effect on willingness of farmers in 11 counties(districts)of Shaanxi through Binary Logistic Regression Model.The results of the survey showed: firstly,farmers in Shaanxi mainly use electricity,coal,stalk and branches and leaves of trees for cooking and heating;Secondly,branches and leaves of trees are the major energy for them,supplemented by electricity,coal and stalk.Thirdly,the energy use characteristics of rural households in different regions are different.The per capita utilization of energy in rural areas in Northern Shaanxi is higher than that of Central Shaanxi and Southern Shaanxi,especially coal and straw.The per capita utilization of electricity and branches and leaves of trees in Southern Shaanxi is higher than that in the other two areas.Central Shaanxi is in the middle.Fourthly,three categories of factors including forest land use information,energy use structure and perception of farmers have effect on the willingness of farmers,of which the factors like the distance between the forest land and the place of residence,the area of economic forest,whether use of stalks to provide energy,whether use of branches and leaves of trees to provide energy and whether use of forest-based bioenergy products for the environmental protection have significant effects.Lastly,the factors influencing farmers' willingness to use forest-based bioenergy products of thress regions are similar,but nuances are still existed.The annual income of farmers in Northern Shaanxi have significant positive correlation with their willingness to use forest-based bioenergy products,which is opposite to the overall situation in Shaanxi.The effect of each variable in Southern Shaaxi is insignificant.It is highly recommended that government can improve Shaanxi Provincial forestry biomass energy industry system,improve the household energy utilization structure of farmers,encourage farmers to use forest-based bioenergy products and ensure the sustainable and healthy forest-based bioenergy industry by building up forest-based bioenergy industrial system,matching up with suitable machines and applicable measures,promoting forest-based bioenergy knowledge to farmers,training all levels of professional people and establishing laws and regulations system.