Climate‐based identification of suitable cropping areas for giant reed and reed canary grass on marginal land in Central and Southern Europe under climate change

Abstract

The climate crisis is already affecting the lives of millions of people, and global warming of 1.5°C and even 2°C will be exceeded during the 21st century if no adequate measures are implemented soon (IPCC, 2021(IPCC, , 2022a. Humanity will face far-reaching consequences should we fail to take action, for example, increased frequency and intensity of hot extremes, heavy precipitation, or agricultural droughts, thus threatening food security. Illustrative Mitigation Pathways of the recent International Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6; IPCC, 2022b), which aim to limit global warming to likely below 2°C, require net-zero carbon emissions by 2080 at

Valorisation of marginal agricultural land in the bioeconomy

“…Marginal lands are strongly affected by changing climate, and crops cultivated on marginal land are often more prone to extreme climatic conditions than those on better land. Ferdini et al (2023) determined the impact of ongoing climate change on the suitability of the two contrasting perennial biomass crops giant reed (GR) (Arundo donax L.) and reed canary grass (RCG) (Phalaris arundinacea L.) for cultivation in Europe, including their potential cultivation area on marginal land. The results indicate that potential marginal-land cultivation areas for GR are located in Greece and southern Spain and for RCG in northern Europe, and are likely to increase by 24% and 13%, respectively, by the end of this century.…”

Towards Managing Biodiversity of European Marginal Agricultural Land for Biodiversity-Friendly Biomass Production

“…[40] The Sustainable Exploitation of Biomass for Bioenergy from Marginal Lands (SEEMLA) definition considers MAL to be "land with clearly reduced soil fertility that does not however exclude profitable biomass production" [21], which is also centered on anthropogenically degraded lands and excludes natural badlands and more productive fallow land. Marginal land tends to be dynamic because of changes in land use, socio-economic conditions, management techniques [18,19,33], and climate change [30,41,42]. Strijker (2005) defines MAL as "characterized by land uses that are at the margin of economic viability", where economic viability is established by available alternatives for different types of production (Figure 2).…”

Cultivation of Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) on Light Soils in Transitional Temperate Climate to Produce Biomass and Seeds

“…The seed yield of RCG depended on the research factors that were evaluated (Table 7); PCA analysis (Figure 3) indicates that seed yield in the conducted research may also depend on climatic conditions; higher rainfall and temperature may have a beneficial effect on seed yield. In the case of grasses, temperature and day length are necessary to induce flowering; RCG requires a double induction: primary, with a temperature of 3-12 • C for a day length below 12 h, and secondary, with a higher temperature and a more extended day [38]. For example, in the Nordic countries, autumn with long days and low temperatures causes this primary induction at a low level, which results in low seed yield in the following year [39].…”

“…While sowing is one of the most cost-effective methods for establishing energy crops, obtaining seeds, particularly for perennial grasses like RCG, can be challenging. A higher vegetative yield is often associated with a reduced seed yield [38]. Nonetheless, improved habitat conditions, including higher organic matter content and nutrient availability, have a positive impact on RCG seed's germination capacity and yield [39].…”