Photo: Miquitos
Editorial: May we have some more land use change, please?
Focali member Göran Berndes is co-author of this editorial for Biofpr - Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining.
Paragraph from the editorial:
… The links between land use change (LUC) and the emerging bio economy are the subject of current research eff orts and public debate. The focus is mainly on bioenergy, often with a view that LUC is– by definition –“bad” and bioenergy should use feedstocks such as harvest residues and organic waste in order to minimize LUC. Considering well-documented impacts of forest conversion and cropland expansion into uncultivated areas, such as habitat loss, greenhouse gas emissions, and degradation of soils and water bodies, this viewpoint is substantiated – and developing technologies and systems for using residues and waste as feedstock also helps to address waste management challenges and contributes to improved resource use efficiency. However, the “no-LUC” view ignores the issue that many current land uses are unsustainable. We face the double challenge of addressing the negative impacts of current land use while increasing biomass production to support phasing out fossil fuels. Would it not be reasonable to look for synergies between these two objectives? For example, by investigating options for achieving beneficial LUC with new biomass production systems that are integrated into agricultural and forestry landscapes, mitigating some of the impacts associated with current land use and improving the way we manage land, water, and other essential resources…
Read the full editorial here
Read the full editorial here
Göran Berndes, Associate Professor at Chalmers, is GBEP AG6 chair and WP leader, IEA Bioenergy Task 43 and Advisory Editorial Board Member Biofpr.
The theme of the editorial is related to workshop co-organized by Focali at Chalmers in March: “Landscape management and design for food, bioenergy and the bioeconomy”
