- Email: [email protected]
Editorial: Bio-energy landscapes
b i o m a s s a n d b i o e n e r g y 5 5 ( 2 0 1 3 ) 1 e2
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
http://www.elsevier.com/locate/biombioe
Editorial: Bio-energy landscapes
The idea of arranging a seminar on landscape aspects of bioenergy production in the International Network of Expertise on Landscapes, Landscape Europe, was conceived during the finalisation of the Danish project REBECa (Renewable energy in the transport sector using biofuels as energy carrier), where results from studies of bioenergy potentials under various scenario conditions indicated that large parts of the agricultural landscape could be affected, under the assumption that policy targets of biofuels should be produced under conditions of self-sufficiency. European scale studies indicated that biomass for bioenergy conversion could be cultivated at a relative large scale in Europe, but also that large regional differences in the potential prevailed (e.g. Ref. [2]), and that the criteria employed for environmental protection also had a considerable influence on the outcome [1]. The seminar was conducted in November 2010, and the papers presented in this special issue are a selection of the papers given at the seminar, complemented with a few other papers. Issues of concern for the landscape researchers emerge from an engagement in the perspectives of using landscape analyses and geographical information technology to better understand the local potentials for increasingly distributed approaches to energy production and supply, which build on a variety of local energy sources and conversion technologies, including bioenergy. Moreover, it is recommended to investigate the possibilities of using spatial planning to ensure a multifunctional provision of ecosystem services and land allocation related to suitability and sustainability of bioenergy production. The first two papers concern the relationship between the complex spatial and temporal combinations of the supply, demand and infrastructure for energy within a landscape and between these aspects and the multifunctional provision of ecosystem services, such as nature conservation, food production or soil carbon sequestration. The approach taken is to investigate how spatial analytical methods and techniques can be applied for spatial planning purposes by producing scenarios based on different criteria and assumptions of local constraints and priorities. The first paper includes top-down approaches in Germany and Austria [3]. The second paper describes how scenarios were used for engaging local stakeholders and to identify potential areas of friction in England [4].
The following paper is a study of the possibility of reaching policy targets of biofuel supply by domestic production in Denmark, and the possible consequences for land use, food and fodder production. Under an assumption of 10% biofuel substitution of fossil fuels in 2020, an increasing substitution of first generation biofuels with second generation and a bioenergy crop production based on present land productivity it is illustrated how trade-offs between bioenergy cropping and fodder production for the large husbandry sector can be foreseen towards 2020 [5]. Paper four, five and six investigates the energy potential of different types of bioenergy crops, in different types of landscapes, and how the production may interact with other ecosystem services. Reed production for bioenergy is modeled in the Netherlands [6], showing that while present economic conditions do not favor reed for bioenergy in comparison with grassland for dairy farming, this may change in the future. Reed can be produced under conditions unfavorable to most other crops, and low lying areas threatened by rising water tables due to climate change may pose landscape conditions in which reed for bioenergy can be competitive. In the paper on buffer strips along streams in Denmark [7] it is investigated how a specific landscape type may provide multifunctional benefits in the farming landscape by combining the production of bioenergy crops such as short rotation coppice or forestry in a zoning design with grassland and natural areas buffering arable land for prevention of eutrophication, leaching of pesticides and provision of habitats for farmland biodiversity. The following paper investigates the yield of poplar in a unique landscape in the inter-dike area in the Danube delta in Slovakia [8], and finds that the excellent growth conditions for poplar here results in a production of quality biomass, but that various factors including the location of the stands in terms of distance from streams and influence from inundation influences the calorific values of the resulting biomass. The final paper reviews the literature of the influence of bioenergy crops on biodiversity at European scale [9] and based on this and six country studies the compatibility between the EU bioenergy targets for 2020 and biodiversity conservation is discussed. Together, the papers illustrate that there is a scope for further understanding of the interaction between the spatial-temporal
2
b i o m a s s a n d b i o e n e r g y 5 5 ( 2 0 1 3 ) 1 e2
aspects of the demand-supply systems of energy, including the bioenergy component, and the planning system, to provide for end secure that multifunctional ecosystem services are considered in the further development of the bioenergy sector.
references
[1] EEA, European Environment Agency. How much bioenergy can Europe produce without harming the environment? EEA Report No 7/2006. [2] Fischer G, Prieler S, van Velthuisen H, Berndes G, Faaij A, Londo, et al. Biofuel production potentials in Europe: sustainable use of cultivated land and pastures, part II: land use scenarios. Biomass and Bioenergy 2010;34:173e88. [3] Blaschke T, Biberacher M, Gadocha S, Schardinger I. ‘Energy landscapes’: meeting energy demands and human aspirations. Biomass and Bioenergy 2013;55:3e16. [4] Howard DC, Burgess PJ, Butler SJ, Carver SJ, Cockerill T, Coleby AMet al. Energyscapes: Linking the energy system and ecosystem services in real landscapes. Biomass and Bioenergy 2013;55:16e25. [5] Larsen LE, Jepsen MR, Frederiksen P. Scenarios for biofuel demands, biomass production and land use e The case of Denmark. Biomass and Bioenergy 2013;55:26e39. [6] Kuhlman T, Diogo V, Koomen O. Exploring the potential of reed as a bioenergy crop in the Netherlands. Biomass and Bioenergy 2013;55:40e51.
[7] Christen B, Dalgaard T. Buffers for biomass production in temperate European agriculture: a review and synthesis on function, ecosystem services and implementation. Biomass and Bioenergy 2013;55:52e66. [8] Petra´s R, Mecko JOszla´nyiPetra´s , Jamnicka´ G. Landscape of Danube inland-delta and its potential of poplar bioenergy production. Biomass and Bioenergy 2013;55:67e71. [9] Pedroli B, Elbersen B, Frederiksen P, Grandin U, Heikkila¨ R, Krogh PH, et al. Is energy cropping in Europe compatible with biodiversity? Opportunities and threats to biodiversity from land-based production of biomass for bioenergy purposes. Biomass and Bioenergy 2013;55:72e85.
Pia Frederiksen Department of Environmental Studies, Aarhus University, Denmark E-mail address: [email protected] Marion Bogers Department of Biodiversity and Policy, Alterra Wageningen UR, The Netherlands E-mail address: [email protected]
0961-9534/$ e see front matter ª 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2013.05.019
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
http://www.elsevier.com/locate/biombioe
Editorial: Bio-energy landscapes
The idea of arranging a seminar on landscape aspects of bioenergy production in the International Network of Expertise on Landscapes, Landscape Europe, was conceived during the finalisation of the Danish project REBECa (Renewable energy in the transport sector using biofuels as energy carrier), where results from studies of bioenergy potentials under various scenario conditions indicated that large parts of the agricultural landscape could be affected, under the assumption that policy targets of biofuels should be produced under conditions of self-sufficiency. European scale studies indicated that biomass for bioenergy conversion could be cultivated at a relative large scale in Europe, but also that large regional differences in the potential prevailed (e.g. Ref. [2]), and that the criteria employed for environmental protection also had a considerable influence on the outcome [1]. The seminar was conducted in November 2010, and the papers presented in this special issue are a selection of the papers given at the seminar, complemented with a few other papers. Issues of concern for the landscape researchers emerge from an engagement in the perspectives of using landscape analyses and geographical information technology to better understand the local potentials for increasingly distributed approaches to energy production and supply, which build on a variety of local energy sources and conversion technologies, including bioenergy. Moreover, it is recommended to investigate the possibilities of using spatial planning to ensure a multifunctional provision of ecosystem services and land allocation related to suitability and sustainability of bioenergy production. The first two papers concern the relationship between the complex spatial and temporal combinations of the supply, demand and infrastructure for energy within a landscape and between these aspects and the multifunctional provision of ecosystem services, such as nature conservation, food production or soil carbon sequestration. The approach taken is to investigate how spatial analytical methods and techniques can be applied for spatial planning purposes by producing scenarios based on different criteria and assumptions of local constraints and priorities. The first paper includes top-down approaches in Germany and Austria [3]. The second paper describes how scenarios were used for engaging local stakeholders and to identify potential areas of friction in England [4].
The following paper is a study of the possibility of reaching policy targets of biofuel supply by domestic production in Denmark, and the possible consequences for land use, food and fodder production. Under an assumption of 10% biofuel substitution of fossil fuels in 2020, an increasing substitution of first generation biofuels with second generation and a bioenergy crop production based on present land productivity it is illustrated how trade-offs between bioenergy cropping and fodder production for the large husbandry sector can be foreseen towards 2020 [5]. Paper four, five and six investigates the energy potential of different types of bioenergy crops, in different types of landscapes, and how the production may interact with other ecosystem services. Reed production for bioenergy is modeled in the Netherlands [6], showing that while present economic conditions do not favor reed for bioenergy in comparison with grassland for dairy farming, this may change in the future. Reed can be produced under conditions unfavorable to most other crops, and low lying areas threatened by rising water tables due to climate change may pose landscape conditions in which reed for bioenergy can be competitive. In the paper on buffer strips along streams in Denmark [7] it is investigated how a specific landscape type may provide multifunctional benefits in the farming landscape by combining the production of bioenergy crops such as short rotation coppice or forestry in a zoning design with grassland and natural areas buffering arable land for prevention of eutrophication, leaching of pesticides and provision of habitats for farmland biodiversity. The following paper investigates the yield of poplar in a unique landscape in the inter-dike area in the Danube delta in Slovakia [8], and finds that the excellent growth conditions for poplar here results in a production of quality biomass, but that various factors including the location of the stands in terms of distance from streams and influence from inundation influences the calorific values of the resulting biomass. The final paper reviews the literature of the influence of bioenergy crops on biodiversity at European scale [9] and based on this and six country studies the compatibility between the EU bioenergy targets for 2020 and biodiversity conservation is discussed. Together, the papers illustrate that there is a scope for further understanding of the interaction between the spatial-temporal
2
b i o m a s s a n d b i o e n e r g y 5 5 ( 2 0 1 3 ) 1 e2
aspects of the demand-supply systems of energy, including the bioenergy component, and the planning system, to provide for end secure that multifunctional ecosystem services are considered in the further development of the bioenergy sector.
references
[1] EEA, European Environment Agency. How much bioenergy can Europe produce without harming the environment? EEA Report No 7/2006. [2] Fischer G, Prieler S, van Velthuisen H, Berndes G, Faaij A, Londo, et al. Biofuel production potentials in Europe: sustainable use of cultivated land and pastures, part II: land use scenarios. Biomass and Bioenergy 2010;34:173e88. [3] Blaschke T, Biberacher M, Gadocha S, Schardinger I. ‘Energy landscapes’: meeting energy demands and human aspirations. Biomass and Bioenergy 2013;55:3e16. [4] Howard DC, Burgess PJ, Butler SJ, Carver SJ, Cockerill T, Coleby AMet al. Energyscapes: Linking the energy system and ecosystem services in real landscapes. Biomass and Bioenergy 2013;55:16e25. [5] Larsen LE, Jepsen MR, Frederiksen P. Scenarios for biofuel demands, biomass production and land use e The case of Denmark. Biomass and Bioenergy 2013;55:26e39. [6] Kuhlman T, Diogo V, Koomen O. Exploring the potential of reed as a bioenergy crop in the Netherlands. Biomass and Bioenergy 2013;55:40e51.
[7] Christen B, Dalgaard T. Buffers for biomass production in temperate European agriculture: a review and synthesis on function, ecosystem services and implementation. Biomass and Bioenergy 2013;55:52e66. [8] Petra´s R, Mecko JOszla´nyiPetra´s , Jamnicka´ G. Landscape of Danube inland-delta and its potential of poplar bioenergy production. Biomass and Bioenergy 2013;55:67e71. [9] Pedroli B, Elbersen B, Frederiksen P, Grandin U, Heikkila¨ R, Krogh PH, et al. Is energy cropping in Europe compatible with biodiversity? Opportunities and threats to biodiversity from land-based production of biomass for bioenergy purposes. Biomass and Bioenergy 2013;55:72e85.
Pia Frederiksen Department of Environmental Studies, Aarhus University, Denmark E-mail address: [email protected] Marion Bogers Department of Biodiversity and Policy, Alterra Wageningen UR, The Netherlands E-mail address: [email protected]
0961-9534/$ e see front matter ª 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2013.05.019