As global renewable energy production expands there has been an increase in demand for sustainable bioenergy feedstock, particularly for woody biomass in the form of wood pellets. This demand has caused an increase in wood pellet feedstock harvest and production in the southeastern United States (US) and has prompted subsequent concerns related to site sustainability following bioenergy feedstock harvesting often performed concurrently with conventional harvesting practices. This study examined the sustainability of wood pellet feedstock harvesting through literature review and synthesis, field-based evaluation, and remote sensing. A systematic literature review revealed knowledge gaps in assessing site-level sustainability specific to wood pellet feedstock harvesting in the Coastal Plain region and limited to no applied research on wood pellet feedstock harvesting post-harvest characteristics. To address this, post-harvest assessments were conducted following 75 recent harvests to compare conventional pulpwood and wood pellet feedstock operations. Results indicated that clearcut harvest areas for pellet production, especially those incorporating in-woods chipping, significantly reduced coarse woody debris (CWD) (0.80 Mg ha-1) compared to conventional clearcut harvest areas (2.52 Mg ha-1). Thinning operations showed minimal differences in downed woody debris (DWD) levels (p = 0.40). Remote sensing assessment of CWD using drone-based LiDAR and multispectral orthophotography demonstrated a relationship with actual CWD volumes (R² = 0.39), with an overall percent error underestimation of -8.86%. Discrepancies were largely attributed to vegetative obscuration and spectral similarity between CWD and ground litter. Site comparisons using the USLE-Forest model yielded no significant difference in predicted erosion rates between pellet (1.12 Mg ha-1 yr-1) and conventional clearcuts (0.68 Mg ha-1 yr-1), and best management practice (BMP) implementation scores were higher in wood pellet harvests (96.03%) compared to conventional harvests (93.46%). BMP implementation was negatively correlated with predicted erosion rates, indicating that proper BMP implementation reduced erosion rates on all study harvest types. These findings indicate that while pellet feedstock harvests may increase CWD removal, adverse effects are minimal when BMPs are properly implemented. Future research should focus on continued monitoring, region-specific studies, and refined remote sensing techniques to ensure sustainable forest biomass harvesting practices and maintain long-term forest structure in the southeastern U.S.
