scholarly journals Land-use change from food to energy: meta-analysis unravels effects of bioenergy on biodiversity and amenity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caspar Donnison ◽  
Robert A Holland ◽  
Zoe M Harris ◽  
Felix Eigenbrod ◽  
Gail Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Bioenergy Crops ◽  
Amenity Value ◽  
The Impact

Most decarbonization scenarios of energy systems necessitate more than 500 Mha of land converted to non-food bioenergy crops to provide both energy substitutes for fossil fuels and negative emissions through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). Understanding the environmental and societal impact of this significant land-use change (LUC) is important in determining where and how bioenergy crops should be deployed, and the trade-offs and co-benefits to the environment and society. Here, we use two systematic reviews and a meta-analysis to assess the existing literature on impacts that are likely to have an important effect on public perceptions of the acceptability of such land use change: biodiversity and amenity value. We focus on the impact of LUC to non-food bioenergy crops on agricultural landscapes, where large-scale bioenergy planting may be required. Our meta-analysis finds strong benefits for biodiversity overall (up 75 % ± 13 %), with particular benefits for bird abundance (+ 81 % ± 32 %), bird species richness (+ 100 % ± 31 %), arthropod abundance (+ 52 % ± 36 %), microbial biomass (+ 77 % ± 24 %), and plant species richness (+ 25 % ± 22 %), when land moves out of either arable crops or grassland to bioenergy production. Conversions from arable land to energy trees led to particularly strong benefits, providing an insight into how future LUC to bioenergy crops could support biodiversity. There were inadequate data to complete a meta-analysis on the effects of bioenergy crops on landscape amenity value, and few generalizable conclusions from systematic review of the literature, however, findings highlight the importance of landscape context and planting strategies in determining amenity values. Our findings demonstrate improved farm-scale biodiversity on agricultural land with bioenergy crops, but also limited knowledge concerning public response to this land use change which could prove crucial to the effective deployment of bioenergy.

Improved biodiversity from food to energy: Meta-analysis of land-use change to dedicated bioenergy crops

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caspar Donnison ◽  
Robert Holland ◽  
Zoe Harris ◽  
Felix Eigenbrod ◽  
Gail Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Bioenergy Crops ◽  
Amenity Value ◽  
The Impact

<p>Whilst dedicated bioenergy crops with non-food uses are currently sparsely deployed across the world, most future energy pathways necessitate a sizeable scale-up of 100-500 million ha of land converted to these crops to provide both energy substitutes for fossil fuels and negative emissions through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). In the face of expected bioenergy expansion, understanding the environmental and societal impact of this land-use change is important in determining where and how bioenergy crops should be deployed, and the trade-offs and co-benefits to the environment and society. Here we review the existing literature on two difficult to measure impacts which could prove critical to the future wide-scale acceptability of global bioenergy cropping in the temperate environment: biodiversity and amenity value. We focus on agricultural landscapes, since this is where large-scale bioenergy planting may be required. A meta-analysis of 42 studies on the biodiversity impacts of land-use change from either arable and grassland to bioenergy crops found strong benefits for bird abundance (+ 109 % ± 24 %), bird species richness (+ 100 % ± 31 %), arthropod abundance (+ 299 % ± 76 %), microbial biomass (+ 77 % ± 24 %), and plant species richness (+ 25 % ± 22 %) and a non-significant upward trend in earthworm abundance. Land-use change from arable land led to particularly strong benefits, providing an insight into how future land-use change to bioenergy crops could support biodiversity. Evidence concerning the impact of bioenergy crops on landscape amenity value highlighted the importance of landscape context, planting strategies, and landowner motivations in determining amenity values, with few generalizable conclusions. In this first meta-analysis to quanitfy the impacts of land-use change to bioenergy on on biodiversity and amenity,  we have demonsrated  improved farm-scale biodiversity on agricultural land but also demonstrated the lack of knowledge concerning public response to bioenergy crops which could prove crucial to the political feasibility of bioenergy policies such as BECCS.</p>

scholarly journals DAMPAK PERUBAHAN PENGGUNAAN LAHAN PERTANIAN TERHADAP SOSIAL EKONOMI PETANI SEKITAR LOKASI PERTAMBANGAN BANYU URIP KECAMATAN GAYAM KABUPATEN BOJONEGORO

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 50
Author(s):  
Aziz Bahtiar Rifa’i ◽  
Fadjar Hari Mardiansjah
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Mining Area ◽  
Agricultural Land Use ◽  
Socioeconomic Conditions ◽  
Qualitative Approaches ◽  
The Impact

This study examines the impact of agricultural land use change into a petroleum mining area to farmers’ socioeconomic conditions around petroleum mining project area in Gayam District of Kabupaten Bojonegoro. The analyses used a mix method, using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The quantitative approach is used to determine the impact of agricultural land use change on the social and economic aspects with the respondent farmers were supported with a scoring method to determine the condition of socioeconomic vulnerability of farmers, while the qualitative approach carried out through in-depth interviews to some informants who have been affected by the project. The results shows that the presence of the petroleum mining industry has not had a positive impact yet on the farmers’ socioeconomic conditions. By the 700 hectares of agricultural land conversion, the agricultural production capacity of the area tends to decrease, including by the decreasing of the productivity of some agricultural land in a radius of 500 m from the fenceof the mining area as they are affected by the fence’s spotlight. The farmers' income also tends to decrease because of the decreasing of their working hours as the big loss of agricultural land in the area. As a result, many farmers should work outside of the area to search replacement of the arable land. These situations lead to a moderate condition of social and economic vulnerability for the farmers, especially for those who still have sufficient assets to meet the needs of their economic. 

Assessing the impact of land-use change for solar park development in the UK: implications for biodiversity and ecosystem services

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio Carvalho ◽  
Alona Armstrong ◽  
Mark Ashby ◽  
Belinda Howell ◽  
Hannah Montag ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Indicator Species ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Ipcc Report ◽  
The Impact

<p>According to the latest IPCC report, 70 to 85% of electricity generation worldwide will need to come from renewable sources of energy by 2050 if countries are to meet internationally agreed greenhouse gas emissions targets. In the rush to decarbonise energy supplies to meet such targets, solar parks (SPs) have proliferated around the world, with uncertain implications for the biodiversity and ecosystem service (ES) provision of hosting ecosystems. SPs necessitate significant land-use change that could disproportionately affect the local environment compared to other low-carbon sources.</p><p>In Britain, SPs are commonly built on intensive arable land and managed as grasslands. This offers both risks and opportunities for ecosystem health, yet evidence for assessing ecosystem consequences is scarce. Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand how net environmental gains can be integrated into land-use change for solar energy development to address the current biodiversity and climate crises.</p><p>We used vegetation data from over 70 SPs and 50 countryside survey plots (1 km<sup>2</sup>) in England and Wales to assess the effects of land-use change for SPs on plant diversity and ES provision. We assessed ten habitat indicator variables (e.g., species richness, larval food plants, forage grasses, bird food plants) associated to functionally important plant species that have the potential to enhance ecosystem service delivery.</p><p>SPs showed higher diversity of habitat indicator species than arable land and improved grasslands, with vegetation between solar arrays showing higher numbers of species important for ES provision (e.g., N-fixing species important for nutrient cycling) than vegetation under solar panels. Overall, the diversity of habitat indicator species seemed highly dependent on former land-use, showing SPs have the potential to enhance ecosystem services provision if built on degraded agricultural land.</p><p>Developing this understanding will enable optimisation of SP design and management to ensure delivery of ecosystem co-benefits from this growing land-use.</p>

scholarly journals Toward a Dualistic Growth? Population Increase and Land-Use Change in Rome, Italy

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 749
Author(s):  
Leonardo Bianchini ◽  
Gianluca Egidi ◽  
Ahmed Alhuseen ◽  
Adele Sateriano ◽  
Sirio Cividino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
Per Capita

The spatial mismatch between population growth and settlement expansion is at the base of current models of urban growth. Empirical evidence is increasingly required to inform planning measures promoting urban containment in the context of a stable (or declining) population. In these regards, per-capita indicators of land-use change can be adopted with the aim at evaluating long-term sustainability of urbanization processes. The present study assesses spatial variations in per-capita indicators of land-use change in Rome, Central Italy, at five years (1949, 1974, 1999, 2008, and 2016) with the final objective of quantifying the mismatch between urban expansion and population growth. Originally specialized in agricultural productions, Rome’s metropolitan area is a paradigmatic example of dispersed urban expansion in the Mediterranean basin. By considering multiple land-use dynamics, per-capita indicators of landscape change delineated three distinctive waves of growth corresponding with urbanization, suburbanization, and a more mixed stage with counter-urbanization and re-urbanization impulses. By reflecting different socioeconomic contexts on a local scale, urban fabric and forests were identified as the ‘winner’ classes, expanding homogeneously over time at the expense of cropland. Agricultural landscapes experienced a more heterogeneous trend with arable land and pastures declining systematically and more fragmented land classes (e.g., vineyards and olive groves) displaying stable (or slightly increasing) trends. The continuous reduction of per-capita surface area of cropland that’s supports a reduced production base, which is now insufficient to satisfy the rising demand for fresh food at the metropolitan scale, indicates the unsustainability of the current development in Rome and more generally in the whole Mediterranean basin, a region specialized traditionally in (proximity) agricultural productions.

scholarly journals Dynamics of soil organic carbon in the steppes of Russia and Kazakhstan under past and future climate and land use

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Rolinski ◽  
Alexander V. Prishchepov ◽  
Georg Guggenberger ◽  
Norbert Bischoff ◽  
Irina Kurganova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Climate Scenarios ◽  
The Impact

AbstractChanges in land use and climate are the main drivers of change in soil organic matter contents. We investigated the impact of the largest policy-induced land conversion to arable land, the Virgin Lands Campaign (VLC), from 1954 to 1963, of the massive cropland abandonment after 1990 and of climate change on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in steppes of Russia and Kazakhstan. We simulated carbon budgets from the pre-VLC period (1900) until 2100 using a dynamic vegetation model to assess the impacts of observed land-use change as well as future climate and land-use change scenarios. The simulations suggest for the entire VLC region (266 million hectares) that the historic cropland expansion resulted in emissions of 1.6⋅ 1015 g (= 1.6 Pg) carbon between 1950 and 1965 compared to 0.6 Pg in a scenario without the expansion. From 1990 to 2100, climate change alone is projected to cause emissions of about 1.8 (± 1.1) Pg carbon. Hypothetical recultivation of the cropland that has been abandoned after the fall of the Soviet Union until 2050 may cause emissions of 3.5 (± 0.9) Pg carbon until 2100, whereas the abandonment of all cropland until 2050 would lead to sequestration of 1.8 (± 1.2) Pg carbon. For the climate scenarios based on SRES (Special Report on Emission Scenarios) emission pathways, SOC declined only moderately for constant land use but substantially with further cropland expansion. The variation of SOC in response to the climate scenarios was smaller than that in response to the land-use scenarios. This suggests that the effects of land-use change on SOC dynamics may become as relevant as those of future climate change in the Eurasian steppes.

Vegetation Effects on Soil Properties in the Monteagle Sandy Loam Series: Implications for Land‐use Change

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Neil
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
The Impact

Soil properties are strongly influenced by the composition of the surrounding vegetation. We investigated soil properties of three ecosystems; a coniferous forest, a deciduous forest and an agricultural grassland, to determine the impact of land use change on soil properties. Disturbances such as deforestation followed by cultivation can severely alter soil properties, including losses of soil carbon. We collected nine 40 cm cores from three ecosystem types on the Roebuck Farm, north of Perth Village, Ontario, Canada. Dominant species in each ecosystem included hemlock and white pine in the coniferous forest; sugar maple, birch and beech in the deciduous forest; grasses, legumes and herbs in the grassland. Soil pH varied little between the three ecosystems and over depth. Soils under grassland vegetation had the highest bulk density, especially near the surface. The forest sites showed higher cation exchange capacity and soil moisture than the grassland; these differences largely resulted from higher organic matter levels in the surface forest soils. Vertical distribution of organic matter varied greatly amongst the three ecosystems. In the forest, more of the organic matter was located near the surface, while in the grassland organic matter concentrations varied little with depth. The results suggest that changes in land cover and land use alters litter inputs and nutrient cycling rates, modifying soil physical and chemical properties. Our results further suggest that conversion of forest into agricultural land in this area can lead to a decline in soil carbon storage.

scholarly journals ORGANIZATION OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL LAND USE BASED ON LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-348
Author(s):  
Vladimir TATARINTSEV ◽  
◽  
Leonid TATARINTSEV ◽  
Alex MATSYURA ◽  
Andrei BONDAROVICH ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Landscape Analysis ◽  
Anthropogenic Activity ◽  
Agricultural Land Use ◽  
Agricultural Lands ◽  
Rational Use ◽  
Erosion Processes

The aim of the work was the landscape analysis of agricultural geographical landscapes in the Altai Territory and elaboration of measures aimed at the rational use of agricultural lands. Environmental and landscape (landscape) approach became the main method of scientific research used in the analysis of modern agricultural landscapes. The cartographic method, using GIS-technologies, made it possible to digitize the obtained materials. Synthesized maps of agro-ecological, natural and other zoning of territories are based on topographic, soil, geobotanical and other thematic maps made during land surveying during the field survey. Retrospective analysis, induction and deduction methods,analysis and synthesis, as well as the abstract-logic method were also used in the work. Our main result was the analysis of land use territory for agricultural enterprise in municipal district of Altai Krai. Exploration of lands indicates a pronounced plant-growing specialization of JSC “Pobeda” with a developed animal breeding direction. Limiting factors affecting the rational use of land are natural and climatic conditions, terrain,unsystematic anthropogenic activity and, as a result, the development of erosion processes. The degree of eroded and deflated arable land is more than 50%, hay and pasture lands are also very unstable. Landscapes have been typified, based on which eleven types of land have been identified and their geomorphological description has been carried out. The first five types of land can be used for agricultural production with limitations compensated by crop technology and erosion control measures, the sixth and seventh types require grassing and, in some cases,conservation, the eighth and ninth types can be partially used for pasture and area valorization; the remaining two are not suitable for agricultural use but should be potentially used for planting and forest management. As a result of the presented transformation of agricultural lands, the structure of cultivated areas has changed. The area of arable land decreased by 877 ha, and of pastures by 365 ha,while the area under hayfields, fallow lands, and forest lands increased by 295, 191, and 875 ha respectively. Low-productive lands were withdrawn from agriculture. We suggested that the sustainability of agricultural land use was mainly caused by the reduction of anthropogenic load and increase in ecological equilibrium of the territory.

scholarly journals Determination of environmental problems of agricultural nature management based on modular geochemical indicators

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-64
Author(s):  
Almobarak Falak ◽  
Lidia A. Mezhova
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Soil Quality ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Environmental Problems ◽  
Nature Management ◽  
The Impact

Central Chernozem is one of the largest agricultural regions in Russia. As a result of the long period of natural resources use the anthropogenic load on agricultural lands is increasing. The result of agricultural nature management is the increase of land degradation processes. Voronezh Region has a high agro-climatic potential, most of the territory is occupied by agricultural land, arable land prevails among them. Soil degradation is the most acute problem. There is a need to assess the impact of agricultural natural resources use on land resources of the region. Modular coefficients for assessment of geochemical impact of agriculture and animal husbandry on agricultural systems are proposed. The developed factor is a tool for identification of negative land use processes and environmental problems. The article deals with the issues of ecologically oriented, scientifically grounded strategy of agricultural nature management. Ecological approach to assessment of soil quality in the future will develop a strategy for balanced land use. The article has a scientific and practical character and is aimed at the development of methods of ecological assessment of soil quality. The proposed methodological approach identifies destructive processes in soils. For ecologically oriented strategy of development of regions it is important to define maximum allowable agricultural loads for preservation of sustainable environment.

The Impact of Urbanization on Agricultural Land Use

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 (3) ◽  
pp. 60-75
Author(s):  
Elena Belova ◽  
Yuliya Rozenfeld
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Agricultural Land Use ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Impact Of Urbanization ◽  
The Impact

The subject of the study presented in this article is the economic relations arising due to the progress of the urbanization that leads to changes in agricultural production. For a long time in Russia a reduction of agricultural land, arable land and crops takes place. One reason for this is the global progress of urbanization. Changes in agricultural land use occur across the country however this process is uneven in different regions. Among all regions Moscow and Moscow region significantly stand out. The study showed that in the more urbanized regions of the country reduction of the agricultural land and changes in agricultural land use are greater than in less urbanized ones.

scholarly journals Modelling Impacts of a Municipal Spatial Plan of Land-Use Changes on Surface Water Quality—Example from Goriška Brda in Slovenia

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matjaž Glavan ◽  
Sara Bele ◽  
Miha Curk ◽  
Marina Pintar
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Surface Water Quality ◽  
Erosion Processes ◽  
Phosphorus Loads ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Spatial Plan

Intensive agriculture causes nutrient leaching and accelerates erosion processes, which threatens the good quality status of surface waters, as proposed by the European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive. The purpose of this study was to define the impact of two alternative agricultural land-use change scenarios defined in a Municipal Spatial Plan on surface water quality by using the Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender (APEX) model. As experimental area, we chose a small Kožbanjšček stream catchment (1464 ha) situated in the Goriška Brda region in Slovenia. The area, due to favorable conditions for vineyards, is facing increasing deforestation. The change of 66.3 ha of forests to vineyards would increase the sediment, nitrate, and phosphorus loads in the stream by 24.8%, 17.1%, and 10.7%, respectively. With the implementation of vegetative buffer strips as a mitigation measure of the current situation, we could reduce the sediment, nitrate, and phosphorus loads by 17.9%, 11.1%, and 3.1%, respectively, while a combination of the two land-use change scenarios would result in a slight increase of the above-mentioned loads, corresponding to 0.61%, 2.1%, and 6.6%, respectively, compared to the baseline situation. The results confirm that, as we can increase pollution levels with deforestation, we can also reduce water pollution by choosing proper types of land management measures.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document