Bioenergy Cropping Systems on Marginal Land

Bioenergy Cropping Systems on Marginal Land PDF Author: Stephanie Lyn Smith
Publisher: ProQuest
ISBN:
Category : Agriculturally marginal land
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description

Bioenergy Cropping Systems on Marginal Land

Bioenergy Cropping Systems on Marginal Land PDF Author: Stephanie Lyn Smith
Publisher: ProQuest
ISBN:
Category : Agriculturally marginal land
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description


Biofuel Cropping Systems

Biofuel Cropping Systems PDF Author: Hans Langeveld
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134624840
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
Choosing appropriate practices and policies for biofuel production requires an understanding of how soils, climate, farm types, infrastructure, markets and social organisation affect the establishment and performance of these crops. The book highlights land use dynamics, cultivation practices related to conversion and wider impacts. It explores how biofuel production chain development is steered by emerging technologies and management practices and how both can be influenced by effective policies designed to encourage sustainable biofuel production. The book highlights major biofuel production chains including: cane cultivation in Brazil corn ethanol in the USA wheat and rapeseed in Europe oil palm in the Far East cane in Asia and Africa SRC and other lignocellulosic crops. In each case the development, cropping systems and impacts are discussed, system dynamics are shown and lessons drawn for the way things could or should change. Biofuel Cropping Systems is a vital resource for all those who want to understand the way biofuels are produced and how they impact other elements of society and especially how improvements can be made. It is a handbook for students, biofuel producers, researchers and policymakers in energy and agriculture.

Land Allocation for Biomass Crops

Land Allocation for Biomass Crops PDF Author: Ruopu Li
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319745360
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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Book Description
This edited volume establishes a forum for international experts to explore cutting-edge questions associated with the land use and biomass production. Topics include ‘do we have enough land, either primary or marginal, to accommodate future production of biomass?’, ‘how are farming decisions made in response to biomass incentives?’, ‘is the current bio-mass production socially, economically and environmentally sustainable?’, and ‘what are the main constraints currently limiting biofuel deployment?’ The expansion of biomass production is often at the cost of reduced land availability for food production and losses of areas with ecological functions such as forests and wetlands. This process often involves complex interplay of physical dynamics and human systems that are driven by numerous geographic and socio-economic factors at different scales. Thus, the state-of-the-art research on the land use issues surrounding the biomass production and its environmental impacts is important for informed land management decision making. This book will be of great use to researchers in land use management and biomass-based renewable energy, as well as practitioners.

Woody Bioenergy Crops on Marginal Land

Woody Bioenergy Crops on Marginal Land PDF Author: Rouse Smith Farnham
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biomass energy
Languages : en
Pages : 54

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Cellulosic Energy Cropping Systems

Cellulosic Energy Cropping Systems PDF Author: Douglas L. Karlen
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118676327
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 363

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Book Description
Cellulosic Energy Cropping Systems presents a comprehensive overview of how cellulosic energy crops can be sustainably produced and converted to affordable energy through liquid fuels, heat and electricity. The book begins with an introduction to cellulosic feedstocks, discussing their potential as a large-scale sustainable energy source, and technologies for the production of liquid fuels, heat and electricity. Subsequent chapters examine miscanthus, switchgrass, sugarcane and energy cane, sorghums and crop residues, reviewing their phylogeny, cultural practices, and opportunities for genetic improvement. This is followed by a detailed focus on woody crops, including eucalyptus, pine, poplar and willow. Critical logistical issues associated with both herbaceous and woody feedstocks are reviewed, and alternate strategies for harvesting, transporting, and storing cellulosic materials are also examined. The final sectionof the booktackles the challenge of achieving long-term sustainability, addressing economic, environmental and social factors. Cellulosic Energy Cropping Systems is a valuable resource for academics, students and industry professionals working in the field of biomass cultivation and conversion, bioenergy, crop science and agriculture. Topics covered include: Identifying suitable cellulosic energy crops that are adapted to a wide range of climates and soils Best management practices for sustainably growing, harvesting, storing, transporting and pre-processing these crops The development of integrated cellulosic energy cropping systems for supplying commercial processing plants Challenges and opportunities for the long-term sustainability of cellulosic energy crops This book was conceived and initiated by David I. Bransby, Professor of Energy and Forage Crops in the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences at Auburn University, USA. For more information on the Wiley Series in Renewable Resources, visit www.wiley.com/go/rrs

Plants and BioEnergy

Plants and BioEnergy PDF Author: Maureen C. McCann
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461493293
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 287

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Book Description
A country's vision for developing renewable and sustainable energy resources is typically propelled by three important drivers – security, cost, and environmental impact. The U.S. currently accounts for a quarter of the world’s total oil consumption, with domestic demands necessitating – at an ever growing cost – a net import of more than 50% of the oil used in this country. At the same time, Brazil, because of its forward thinking on energy strategy, is today energy independent. As emerging economies around the world increase their petroleum use by large margins and as large fractions of that new consumption are necessarily supplied from unstable parts of the world, the inevitable repercussions on petroleum-driven economies will continue to escalate. In addition, there is an unequivocal imperative to take immediate and aggressive measures to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by decreasing fossil fuel consumption and increasing our use of carbon-neutral or carbon-negative fuels as well as improving efficiency of fuel use. Economic growth and development worldwide depend increasingly on secure supplies of reliable, affordable, clean energy. Together with its counterpart societies, was convened the First Pan-American Congress on Plants and BioEnergy, which was held in June, 2008, in Mérida, Mexico. Sponsored by the American Society of Plant Biologists, this congress was designed to initiate Pan-American research collaborations in energy biosciences. At that congress, the organizational committee committed themselves to continue the meeting biennially, resulting in the 2nd Pan-American Congress on Plants and BioEnergy to be held with the endorsement of ASPB, July 6-10, 2010, in São Paulo, Brazil. Whereas the 1st congress covered a broad range of topics that bioenergy impacted, the second congress will focus more on the advances in plant biology: the genetic improvement of energy crop plants, their fit into regional environments, and the development of a sustainable energy agriculture.

Potential Environmental Impacts of Bioenergy Crop Production

Potential Environmental Impacts of Bioenergy Crop Production PDF Author: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment
Publisher: Congress
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 86

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Ex-ante Analysis of a Novel Production Practice

Ex-ante Analysis of a Novel Production Practice PDF Author: Daniel F. Mooney
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This study develops ex-ante methods to analyze landowner decisions to supply land for bioenergy cropping systems. It complements previous research that uses budgeting and math programming methods to develop point estimates of breakeven values by incorporating heterogeneity in farm enterprises and landowner preferences for non-pecuniary benefits as factors that affect the opportunity cost of switching land uses. The three essays herein employ distinct methodological approaches, landowner populations, and empirical applications. Their respective objectives are: first, to identify the distribution of farm operator reservation prices to adopt bioenergy cropping systems; second, to examine the effect of preferences for non-pecuniary benefits on non-operators' willingness-to-accept to replace an existing land use; and third, to infer potential rates of adoption using recent historical data on disaggregated land cover. To accomplish the first two, contingent valuation surveys were conducted in four counties in Wisconsin with abundant physically-marginal land on which bioenergy cropping systems were hypothesized to be feasible. Regression analysis revealed that land opportunity costs vary significantly across farm enterprise types, median payments required to supply land are several multiples above budgeting breakeven values, and short-run land supply for bioenergy cropping systems will be inelastic and geographically-fragmented. Some optimism exists, however, because preferences over non-pecuniary benefits could lead some landowners to supply land at payment levels close to current land rental rates. The third objective was met by analyzing recent, statewide remote-sensing data on land cover change during a time of rising cropland profitability. Panel estimation mostly confirmed insight gained from the surveys. Overall, this study demonstrates the need for future assessments to consider heterogeneity in pecuniary and non-pecuniary opportunity costs when forecasting the supply of land for bioenergy systems.

Economic Valuation of Environmental Benefits and the Targeting of Conservation Programs

Economic Valuation of Environmental Benefits and the Targeting of Conservation Programs PDF Author: Peter Milton Feather
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agricultural conservation
Languages : en
Pages : 64

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Book Description


Political Ecology of Industrial Crops

Political Ecology of Industrial Crops PDF Author: Abubakari Ahmed
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000431207
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 277

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Book Description
This book employs a political ecology lens to unravel how industrial crops catalyse ecological, agrarian, socioeconomic, and institutional transformation. Using the conceptual tools and perspectives of political ecology, namely multi-scalar analysis and attention to marginalisation, social difference, and discourses and narratives, this volume provides a critical and comprehensive assessment of the transformative power of industrial cropping systems. It presents a truly international overview by drawing on a range of case studies from the global South, including soybeans in South America, cashew nuts in Guinea Bissau, cotton in India, maize in China, jatropha in Ghana, sugarcane in Peru and Eswatini, and oil palm in Ghana and Peru. The unique case studies are put into perspective with chapters introducing the key concepts of political ecology and critical dimensions of industrial cropping systems related to large-scale land acquisitions, land grabbing, and marginal land. The individual chapters employ different approaches all rooted in political ecology, thus offering a rich overview of how the field engages with such cropping systems. Overall, this volume contains valuable propositions for improving current policies and practices in industrial crop settings in both developed and developing countries. Through its comprehensive and interdisciplinary outlook, this volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of political ecology, agrarian studies, development studies, and ecological economics.