Footprints of the German bioeconomy

The timber footprint, in combination with other footprints, provides a more comprehensive picture of the pressures and impacts linked to the bioeconomy. Together they allow a comparison of trade-offs and synergies associated with decisions like whether to support the industrial application of biomass stemming from forestry and/or agriculture (as depicted by the agricultural biomass footprint and agricultural land footprint). The biodiversity footprint is also tightly connected to the impacts on forests, linked to rising demands for forest and agricultural based resources. A very high timber footprint is thus exerting more pressures on biodiversity, and the need to address both hot spots as well as the scale of use is made evident by assessing them together.