Environmental impacts and mitigation effectiveness of strategic perennialization
Environmental impacts and mitigation effectiveness of strategic perennialization
Society faces the double challenge of increasing biomass production to meet the future demands for food,
materials and bioenergy, while addressing negative impacts of current (and future) land use. In the discourse,
land use change (LUC) has often been considered as negative, referring to impacts of deforestation and expansion of biomass plantations. However, strategic establishment of suitable perennial production systems in agricultural landscapes can mitigate environmental impacts of current crop production, while providing biomass for the bioeconomy.
Here, we explore the potential for such “beneficial LUC” in EU28. First, we map and quantify the
degree of accumulated soil organic carbon losses, soil loss by wind and water erosion, nitrogen emissions to
water, and recurring floods, in ∼81.000 individual landscapes in EU28. We then estimate the effectiveness in
mitigating these impacts through establishment of perennial plants, in each landscape.
The results indicate that there is a substantial potential for effective impact mitigation. Depending on criteria selection, 10–46% of the land used for annual crop production in EU28 is located in landscapes that could be considered priority areas for beneficial LUC. These areas are scattered all over Europe, but there are notable “hot-spots” where priority areas are concentrated, e.g., large parts of Denmark, western UK, The Po valley in Italy, and the Danube basin. While some policy developments support beneficial LUC, implementation could benefit from attempts to realize synergies between different Sustainable Development Goals, e.g., “Zero hunger”, “Clean water and sanitation”, “Affordable and Clean Energy”, “Climate Action”, and “Life on Land”.
I studien har vi utforskat potentialen för fördelaktig markanvändningsförändring genom strategisk perennialisering i Europa. Miljöproblematiken i fler än 81,000 individuella landskap har kvantifierats och potentialen att lindra miljöproblematik med hjälp av strategisk etablering av perenna grödor har uppskattats i varje enskilt landskap.
För mer information, se engelsk beskrivning.
2021-07-08T06:17:48.825226Z
2021-07-08T06:17:48.825226Z
Oskar Englund
Oskar Englund
Oskar Englund
Environmental Sciences
Miljövetenskap
Environmental Management
Miljöledning
Agricultural Science
Jordbruksvetenskap
Renewable Bioenergy Research
Förnyelsebar bioenergi
Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use
Miljö- och naturvårdsvetenskap
Farming
Areella näringar
Environment
Miljö
Earth and Related Environmental Sciences
Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap
Environmental Engineering
Naturresursteknik
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Lantbruksvetenskap, skogsbruk och fiske
Other Agricultural Sciences
Annan lantbruksvetenskap
Engineering and Technology
Teknik
Natural Sciences
Naturvetenskap
Agricultural and Veterinary sciences
Lantbruksvetenskap och veterinärmedicin
Hydrography
Hydrografi
Land cover
Landtäcke
Land use
Markanvändning
Soil
Mark
Nitrogen emissions
Kväveläckage
Perennial crops
Perenna grödor
Soil carbon
Markkol
Erosion
Erosion
Flooding
Översvämningar
Environmental impacts
Miljöproblem
Biomass
Biomassa
Land use
Markanvändning
LUC
LUC
Ecosystem services
Ekosystemtjänster
2000
2018
Mid Sweden University
Mittuniversitetet