A Novel Framework to Classify Marginal Land for Sustainable Biomass Feedstock Production
A Novel Framework to Classify Marginal Land for Sustainable Biomass Feedstock Production
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DOI：
10.2134/jeq2010.0539
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发表时间：
2011-09-01
影响因子：
2.4
通讯作者：
Snyder, Seth W.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Gopalakrishnan, Gayathri;Negri, M. Cristina;Snyder, Seth W.
为了实现粮食和能源安全，可持续生物能源已成为许多国家的重要目标。利用边际土地生产能源作物是实现这一目标的一种策略，但什么是边际土地呢？目前的定义一般侧重于单一标准，主要是农业经济盈利能力。在此，我们提出了一个包含多种标准的框架，包括当前土地利用的盈利能力、土壤健康指标（侵蚀、洪水、排水或高坡）以及由地表水或地下水资源污染导致的环境退化。我们在内布拉斯加州测试了这一框架，用于对边际土地进行分类，并估计了利用边际土地生产生物燃料作物的潜力。我们的研究结果表明，在至少两个标准的基础上，大约160万公顷或400万英亩的土地（占总土地面积的-8%）可以被归类为边缘。第二代木质纤维素生物能源作物，如柳枝稷（Panicum virgatum L.）、芒草（miscanthus giganteus）、原生草原草和短轮制木本作物，可以在满足能源和环境需求的重新设计的景观上种植，而不会对粮食或饲料生产产生重大影响。计算重新设计景观的经济效益与当前实地实践之间的权衡是确定将生物燃料原料生产整合到当前土地管理实践中的功能设计的下一步。
To achieve food and energy security, sustainable bioenergy has become an important goal for many countries. The use of marginal lands to produce energy crops is one strategy for achieving this goal, but what is marginal land? Current definitions generally focus on a single criterion, primarily agroeconomic profitability. Herein, we present a framework that incorporates multiple criteria including profitability of current land use, soil health indicators (erosion, flooding, drainage, or high slopes), and environmental degradation resulting from contamination of surface water or groundwater resources. We tested this framework for classifying marginal land in the state of Nebraska and estimated the potential for using marginal land to produce biofuel crops. Our results indicate that approximately 1.6 million ha, or 4 million acres, of land (-8% of total land area) could be classified as marginal on the basis of at least two criteria. Second-generation lignocellulosic bioenergy crops such as switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), miscanthus (Miscanthus giganteus), native prairie grasses, and short-rotation woody crops could be grown on this land in redesigned landscapes that meet energy and environmental needs, without significant impacts on food or feed production. Calculating tradeoffs between the economics of redesigned landscapes and current practices at the field scale is the next step for determining functional designs for integrating biofuel feedstock production into current land management practices.