The growing bioeconomy will require a greater supply of biomass in the future for both bioenergy and bio-based products. Today, many bioenergy cropping systems (BCS) are suboptimal due to either social-ecological threats or technical limitations. In addition, the competition for land between bioenergy-crop cultivation, food-crop cultivation, and biodiversity conservation is expected to increase as a result of both continuous world population growth and expected severe climate change effects. This study investigates how BCS can become more social-ecologically sustainable in future. It brings together expert opinions from the fields of agronomy, economics, meteorology, and geography. Potential solutions to the following five main requirements for a more holistically sustainable supply of biomass are summarized: (i) bioenergy-crop cultivation should provide a beneficial social-ecological contribution, such as an increase in both biodiversity and landscape aesthetics, (ii) bioenergy crops should be cultivated on marginal agricultural land so as not to compete with food-crop production, (iii) BCS need to be resilient in the face of projected severe climate change effects, (iv) BCS should foster rural development and support the vast number of small-scale family farmers, managing about 80% of agricultural land and natural resources globally, and (v) bioenergy-crop cultivation must be planned and implemented systematically, using holistic approaches. Further research activities and policy incentives should not only consider the economic potential of bioenergy-crop cultivation, but also aspects of biodiversity, soil fertility, and climate change adaptation specific to site conditions and the given social context. This will help to adapt existing agricultural systems in a changing world and foster the development of a more social-ecologically sustainable bioeconomy.

No abstract

Urban gardening has the potential to turn the growing number of consumers into conscious producers by raising awareness of natural resource cycles, contributing to environmental conservation and climate change mitigation. This study investigated the motivations for urban gardening in Germany, based on an extensive review of 657 urban gardening project websites. The subsequent online survey of 380 project participants provides a characterization of the gardeners, giving insight into both cultivation methods and technologies used and the participants’ consumer behavior. It was shown that urban gardening has an influence on consumer behavior and can induce a change towards a more sustainable lifestyle. The gardens provide a space for the exchange of social values, knowledge and ideas on different ways of life among the diverse participants. Hence, urban gardening creates far more than just food; it influences society on multiple levels. Urban gardening can support the bottom-up societal transition towards a bioeconomy as both have common attributes. Finally, the paper proposes an innovative, resource-efficient cultivation system that may attract further societal groups to the urban gardening lifestyle, with the aim of fostering the development of the bioeconomy.

Excessive cultivation of maize (Zea mays L.) as a biogas substrate has fired debate about potential land‐use change effects of bioenergy cropping systems. Cup plant ( Silphium perfoliatum L.) is a perennial biogas crop that provides more environmental services than maize. This study investigated (i) how to replace maize with cup plant as a biogas substrate in a large‐scale biogas plant located in southwest Germany, and (ii) how to optimize the energy and material cycles of such a biogas plant given the new feedstock. The biogas plant produces 1000 m3 biogas per hour with plans for it to be combined with a large dairy farm (1000 dairy units). It was found that the substitution of maize with cup plant as a biogas substrate results in a methane yield reduction of 10% to 20% due to lower biomass yields. However, there exists a strong potential to increase both biomass yields and biogas substrate quality of cup plant by optimizing establishment procedures and better genotypes. Furthermore, cup plant provides food and shelter for open land animals, including birds and insects, and could hence be a suitable alternative to maize for large biogas plants, being more environmentally beneficial. Extracting proteins from cup‐plant biomass could also help replace soy with locally produced protein for feeding cattle. Hydrothermal carbonization is a promising tool for closing nutrient cycles and for extracting phosphate from digestate, but more research is needed before it can be put into practice. © 2020 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Renewable energy (RE) production promotes the efficient and sustainable utilization of natural resources at the local level. This study assessed smallholder farmers' perceptions of RE production in two villages in West Bengal, India. The availability and potential of renewable resources and livelihood characteristics of smallholders were explored. Relevant factors for the selection of appropriate RE technologies were identified, based on the participatory, bottom-up Integrated Renewable Energy Potential Assessment. The research area has abundant solar resources and substantial amounts of organic residues and waste suitable for biodigestion. Important factors for RE technology selection, as stated by farmers, are: ease of daily activities, government support, and limited land requirements. Solar-photovoltaic (PV) systems providing sufficient electricity for household use and irrigation are considered the most appropriate. Key informants focus on initial investment costs, government support, and reduced energy expenditure. They favor solar-PV systems for household electrification. Second choice was an integrated food and energy system that combines solar-PV for irrigation and vermicomposting of organic residues/wastes for fertilizer production. Smallholder famers' motivation to produce and use RE is high. Their perspective should be integrated in the design of RE-supporting policies and related programs to utilize local natural resources effectively and promote the transition towards renewable energy.

No abstract

Carbon neutrality in the transport sector is a key challenge for the growing bioeconomy as the share of biofuels has stagnated over the past decade. This can be attributed to basic economics and a lack of a robust market for these technologies. Consequently, more sustainable biomass supply concepts are required that reduce negative impacts on the environment and at the same time promote environmental services for sustainable agricultural cropping systems including erosion prevention, soil fertility improvement, greenhouse gas mitigation, and carbon sequestration. One promising concept is the cultivation of perennial biomass crops such as Miscanthus (Miscanthus Andersson) as biofuel feedstock. In this study, the multiple environmental services provided by Miscanthus are first explored and subsequently monetized. Then the integration of Miscanthus cultivation for biomass production into European agricultural systems is assessed. One hectare of Miscanthus provides society with environmental services to a value of 1,200 to 4,183 € a −1. These services are even more pronounced when cultivation takes place on marginal agricultural land. The integration of Miscanthus into existing agricultural practices aids both conservation and further optimization of socioeconomic welfare and landscape diversification. As these environmental services are more beneficial to the public than the Miscanthus farmers, subsidies are required to close the gap between biofuels and biodiversity that are calculated based on the provision of environmental services. Similar approaches to that developed in this study may be suitable for the implementation of other biomass cropping systems and therefore help foster the transition to a bioeconomy.

No abstract