Increasing bioenergy production on arable land: Does the regional and local climate respond? Germany as a case study

2014 ◽  
Vol 119 (6) ◽  
pp. 2711-2724 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merja H. Tölle ◽  
Oliver Gutjahr ◽  
Gerald Busch ◽  
Jan C. Thiele
2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 347-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. HAKALA ◽  
M. KONTTURI ◽  
K. PAHKALA

Current (1997–2006) and future (2050) global field biomass bioenergy potential was estimated based on FAO (2009) production statistics and estimations of climate change impacts on agriculture according to emission scenario B1 of IPCC. The annual energy potential of raw biomass obtained from crop residues and bioenergy crops cultivated in fields set aside from food production is at present 122–133 EJ, 86–93 EJ or 47–50 EJ, when a vegetarian, moderate or affluent diet is followed, respectively. In 2050, with changes in climate and increases in population, field bioenergy production potential could be 101–110 EJ, 57–61 EJ and 44–47 EJ, following equivalent diets. Of the potential field bioenergy production, 39–42 EJ now and 38–41 EJ in 2050 would derive from crop residues. The residue potential depends, however, on local climate, and may be considerably lower than the technically harvestable potential, when soil quality and sustainable development are considered. Arable land could be used for bioenergy crops, particularly in Australia, South and Central America and the USA. If crop production technology was improved in areas where environmental conditions allow more efficient food production, such as the former Soviet Union, large areas in Europe could also produce bioenergy in set aside fields. The realistic potential and sustainability of field bioenergy production are discussed.;


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Li ◽  
Fengyin Xiong ◽  
Zhuo Chen

AbstractBiomass gasification, especially distribution to power generation, is considered as a promising way to tackle global energy and environmental challenges. However, previous researches on integrated analysis of the greenhouse gases (GHG) abatement potentials associated with biomass electrification are sparse and few have taken the freshwater utilization into account within a coherent framework, though both energy and water scarcity are lying in the central concerns in China’s environmental policy. This study employs a Life cycle assessment (LCA) model to analyse the actual performance combined with water footprint (WF) assessment methods. The inextricable trade-offs between three representative energy-producing technologies are explored based on three categories of non-food crops (maize, sorghum and hybrid pennisetum) cultivated in marginal arable land. WF results demonstrate that the Hybrid pennisetum system has the largest impact on the water resources whereas the other two technology options exhibit the characteristics of environmental sustainability. The large variances in contribution ratio between the four sub-processes in terms of total impacts are reflected by the LCA results. The Anaerobic Digestion process is found to be the main contributor whereas the Digestate management process is shown to be able to effectively mitigate the negative environmental impacts with an absolute share. Sensitivity analysis is implemented to detect the impacts of loss ratios variation, as silage mass and methane, on final results. The methane loss has the largest influence on the Hybrid pennisetum system, followed by the Maize system. Above all, the Sorghum system demonstrates the best performance amongst the considered assessment categories. Our study builds a pilot reference for further driving large-scale project of bioenergy production and conversion. The synergy of combined WF-LCA method allows us to conduct a comprehensive assessment and to provide insights into environmental and resource management.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4341
Author(s):  
Laima Česonienė ◽  
Daiva Šileikienė ◽  
Vitas Marozas ◽  
Laura Čiteikė

Twenty-six water bodies and 10 ponds were selected for this research. Anthropogenic loads were assessed according to pollution sources in individual water catchment basins. It was determined that 50% of the tested water bodies had Ntotal values that did not correspond to the good and very good ecological status classes, and 20% of the tested water bodies had Ptotal values that did not correspond to the good and very good ecological status classes. The lake basins and ponds received the largest amounts of pollution from agricultural sources with total nitrogen at 1554.13 t/year and phosphorus at 1.94 t/year, and from meadows and pastures with total nitrogen at 9.50 t/year and phosphorus at 0.20 t/year. The highest annual load of total nitrogen for lake basins on average per year was from agricultural pollution from arable land (98.85%), and the highest total phosphorus load was also from agricultural pollution from arable land (60%).


2012 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 87-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iraklis Argyriou ◽  
Paul Fleming ◽  
Andrew Wright

Author(s):  
Gabor von Bethlenfalvy ◽  
Julia Hindersin ◽  
Egbert Strauß

The case study used spotlight strip census routes to estimate Brown Hare numbers in a 793 ha hunting district. The habitats, dominated by intensively farmed arable land were also mapped. This is part of a Germany-wide long-term monitoring program of game populations which is carried out by hunters and was initiated by the German Hunters’ Association and the Hunters’ Association of Lower Saxony in 2001.


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