Environmental Impacts of Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) Grown for Biomass on Agricultural Land

The large-scale establishment of short-rotation coppice requires widespread acceptance of all stakeholders concerned, depending on positive attitudes towards short-rotation coppice. Of special importance are the decision makers of agricultural enterprises as they are the ones who determine the use of their land property. The attitudes of nature conservation associations influence the current condition of opinions on short-rotation coppice in society. Based on two surveys with a low number of farmers and including members of the nature conservation associations of the regions Freiberg (Saxony) and Schradenland (Brandenburg), attitudes were assessed towards short-rotation coppice and their management on agricultural land. These surveys had explorative character and the results do not allow any generalisation. It shows that economic and technological aspects are the most relevant to farmers. Concerns of nature conservation associations refer primarily to ecological points of view. The obtained results form the basis for further surveys, which will follow representative sampling.

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Energy Production Potential of Wood Biomass from SRC Plantations in Cadastral Area of Nové Zámky

Acta Regionalia et Environmentalica ◽

10.2478/aree-2019-0005 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 20-24

Author(s):

Martin Hauptvogl ◽

Tomáš Peszeki

Keyword(s):

Renewable Energy ◽

Biomass Production ◽

Energy Production ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Arable Land ◽

Short Rotation Coppice ◽

Energy Sources ◽

Wood Biomass ◽

Short Rotation

Abstract The renewable energy sources play an important role in the discussions on the future energy generation. The European Union has set certain goals to increase the share of renewable energy sources and to reduce carbon emissions. The paper focuses on the evaluation of energy production from short rotation coppice (SRC) plantations in the cadastral area of Nové Zámky. The study area is located in south-western Slovakia. The energy production was evaluated based on GIS analysis of agricultural land suitable for establishment of short rotation coppice plantations. The high-quality arable land was excluded from the biomass production. The wood biomass should be produced on marginal, low-quality soils and contaminated or degraded land that is unsuitable for food production. There are only high and medium-quality soils classified in the qualitative groups 1–7 in the study area. The land potentially used for biomass production represents an area of 1,536 ha. If the whole area would be covered by short rotation coppice plantations, it would produce 4.8 kWh/day per person. Taking into consideration the overall losses of 33% in the process of the energy conversion, the potential power from the wood biomass production is 3.2 kWh/day per person. The plantations would provide 61 new jobs in the study area.

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Selected environmental impacts of the technical production of wood chips from poplar short rotation coppice on marginal land

Biomass and Bioenergy ◽

10.1016/j.biombioe.2015.12.018 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 85 ◽

pp. 235-242 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Janine Schweier ◽

Jörg-Peter Schnitzler ◽

Gero Becker

Keyword(s):

Environmental Impacts ◽

Wood Chips ◽

Short Rotation Coppice ◽

Marginal Land ◽

Short Rotation ◽

Technical Production

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The economic attractiveness of Short Rotation Coppice biomass plantations for bioenergy in Northern Ontario

The Forestry Chronicle ◽

10.5558/tfc2013-012 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 89 (01) ◽

pp. 66-78 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Darren Allen ◽

Daniel W. McKenney ◽

Denys Yemshanov ◽

Saul Fraleigh

Keyword(s):

Land Cover ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Short Rotation Coppice ◽

Natural Forests ◽

Northern Ontario ◽

Price Changes ◽

Short Rotation ◽

Improved Cultivars

With an apparent abundance of idled and under-utilized agricultural land in Northern Ontario, there is interest in the ability of short-rotation forests to supply bioenergy and other possible bioproducts. Once established, Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) plantations can be harvested on (roughly) three-year cutting cycles until about age 22. Purpose-grown plantations such as these could be used as stand-alone sources of fibre or used in conjunction with sources such as natural forests or woody residues. Using a recently developed land cover model we found that approximately 405 500 ha of agricultural-type land exists across Northern Ontario. Numerous scenarios were developed to calculate SRC profitability on these areas. The analyses are intended to reflect a broad range of expectations on physical yields and prices, including management costs. Although SRC involves a considerable up-front investment, our simulations suggest a significant amount of land could have a break-even biomass price of $85/oven-dried tonnes (ODT) (+/- $5/ODT) at farm gate. This farm gate biomass price represents roughly current traditional biomass prices paid. Thus SRC would need to produce biomass at a comparable cost to be a competitive option. A number of technological and price changes could increase the attractiveness of SRC systems in Northern Ontario, including decreases in establishment and management costs (while maintaining yield expectations) and improved cultivars offering increased yields.

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Locating Hotspots for the Social Life Cycle Assessment of Bio-Based Products from Short Rotation Coppice

BioEnergy Research ◽

10.1007/s12155-021-10261-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Daniela Fürtner ◽

Lea Ranacher ◽

E. Alejandro Perdomo Echenique ◽

Peter Schwarzbauer ◽

Franziska Hesser

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Social Life ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Short Rotation Coppice ◽

Social Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Social Aspects ◽

Alternative Form ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Short Rotation

AbstractThe establishment of new value chains raises expectations in economic and social benefits. To determine whether these expectations can be fulfilled or whether there are also negative consequences, social aspects should be assessed as early as the R&D phase. Potential social impacts can be assessed with the help of a social life cycle assessment (SLCA). A common problem in SLCA studies is the large number of social aspects. Thus, it is important to prioritize the most relevant aspects. Scholars agree that socioeconomic indicators should not be selected on a purely intuitive and common sense basis and that a standardized approach is missing. A three-step process has been developed to identify the most vulnerable and relevant social aspects. These three steps were implemented into a case study to empirically test the method. Short-rotation-coppice as an alternative form of agricultural dendromass production is one possibility to obtain wood resources for the processing of bio-based products. The use of agricultural land for dendromass production promises additional income for the region’s farmers and job opportunities for the local population. The extant literature shows that the most frequently addressed impacts are related to workers’ health and safety aspects. The outcome of this study aims to support future research by identifying an appropriate approach for the selection of indicators in SLCA. For studies with a similar focus, the proposed set of indicators can be used as a framework in itself or serve as a basis for the choice of relevant social indicators.

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