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In order to face the expected increasing demand of energy crops without creating conflicts of land occupation sustainability, farmers need to find reliable alternatives in marginal agricultural areas where the production of food hardly ever is economically and environmentally sustainable. The purpose of this work was the study of the viability of the introduction of new non-food crops in marginal areas of real farms. This study compares the profit margin and the energy and environmental performance of growing tall wheatgrass, in the marginal area of a rainfed farm versus rye, the annual crop sowed traditionally in the marginal area of the farm. The cited farm owned 300 ha of which about 13% was marginal. The methodology was based on the use of the profit margin of the crops as indicator for the economic assessment and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as technique for the energy and the environmental evaluations. Results of the economic analysis showed a slight enhancement of the profit margin for tall wheatgrass (156 €·ha -1 ·y -1 ) compared to rye (145 €·ha -1 ·y -1 ).Environmental LCA was driven by CO 2 fixation due to soil organic matter increase and reduced inputs consumption for tall wheatgrass that produced a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of -1.9 Mg CO 2 eq.·ha -1 ·y -1 versus 1.6 Mg CO 2 eq.·ha -1 ·y -1 obtained for rye. Tall wheatgrass cultivation primary energy consumption was less than 40% of rye's consumption. According to the results achieved it was concluded that tall wheatgrass is better option than rye from the energy and the environmental point of views and slight better option from the economic view.Considering these results, monetarization of the CO 2 eq. reductions of tall wheatgrass compared to rye is essential to improve its profit margin and promote the implantation of this new crop in marginal areas of farms.

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Integrated food and bioenergy production is a promising way to ensure regional/national food and energy security, efficient use of soil resources, and enhanced biodiversity, while contributing to the abatement of CO2 emissions. The objective of this study was to assess alternative crop rotation schemes as the basis for integrating and enhancing the sustainable biomass production within the food‐energy agricultural context. Sunn hemp (Crotalaria spp.) in rotation with wheat (Triticum spp.) in the EU and with sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) in Brazil were evaluated. Sunn hemp did not negatively affect crop's productivity and soil fertility; wheat grain yields were maintained around the mean regional production levels (6, 7, 3 and Mg ha−1 in Greece, Italy, and Spain, respectively), and the cumulative biomass in the extended rotation (wheat straw+sunn hemp) was between 1.5 and 2.0 times higher than in the conventional rotation. In Brazil, sugarcane stalks yield in clay soils increased by around 15 Mg ha−1 year−1 under sunn hemp rotation in comparison with bare fallow. Moreover, sunn hemp in the EU rotations did not have negative effects on soil available macronutrients, organic matter, pH, and cation exchange capacity, neither on C and N stocks in Brazil. The qualitative characteristics (mineral, ash, and hemicelluloses contents) of the cumulated biomass were somehow higher (in average +26%, +35%, and +3.4%, respectively) than in the conventional system. In summary, in temperate and tropical climates the integration of dedicated biomass legume crops within conventional systems could lead to enhanced biomass availability, crop diversification, and efficient use (in space and time) of the land resources.

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