Management effects on botanical composition of species-rich meadows within the Natura 2000 network

Boob, Meike; Truckses, Barbara; Seither, Melanie; Elsäßer, Martin; Thumm, Ulrich; Lewandowski, Iris

doi:10.1007/s10531-018-01689-1

Cited by 13 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Worldwide, the estimated area of marginal agricultural land available for bioenergy crop cultivation amounts to approximately 7 Mm 2 [57]. A high proportion of this area could be used for the cultivation of lignocellulosic bioenergy crops (providing second-generation biofuels) such as miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus Greef et Deuter), giant reed (Arundo donax L.), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), as well as low-input high-diversity grasslands [58][59][60][61] and short rotation coppices among others. Therefore, these lignocellulosic bioenergy crops theoretically hold a high biomass potential [57].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prospects of Bioenergy Cropping Systems for A More Social-Ecologically Sound Bioeconomy

et al. 2019

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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.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prospects of Bioenergy Cropping Systems for A More Social-Ecologically Sound Bioeconomy

et al. 2019

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“…With a two-cut regime, lower SMY and technical problems in the biogas plant can be expected due to higher fiber contents. On the other hand, the two-cut regime may be more desirable than the three-cut regime in social-ecological terms such as biodiversity conservation and wild game protection [21]. The first cut of the two-cut regime can be late enough to accommodate the whole of the open land animals' breeding season, thus helping to reduce wild game losses during harvest [66].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The first cut of the two-cut regime can be late enough to accommodate the whole of the open land animals' breeding season, thus helping to reduce wild game losses during harvest [66]. Moreover, grassland diversity is expected to increase with decreasing cutting frequency [21]. This is because more grassland species (grasses, forbs and legumes) are able to reproduce and remain part of the grassland vegetation for longer [67].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To preserve the habitat function of these Arrhenatherion meadows, a two-cut regime and an extensive fertilization every two years are recommended [20]. In this case, the time of the first cut can be crucial for the botanical composition [21]. The use of PGL for biogas production has become increasingly attractive to farmers [22,23], whereby various management scenarios are possible.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Performance of Mesotrophic Arrhenatheretum Grassland under Different Cutting Frequency Regimes for Biomass Production in Southwest Germany

et al. 2019

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Biogas production is a key renewable energy pathway for a more sustainable future bioeconomy. However, there is a crucial trade-off between biomass productivity and social-ecological sustainability of available biogas cropping systems. Permanent grassland has been frequently promoted as a promising perennial cropping system for biomass production. Three- and four-cut regimes are usually the highest-yielding and thus preferable for biogas production. A three-year field trial in southwest Germany investigated biomass yield and biochemical composition of mesotrophic Arrhenatheretum grassland under three cutting regimes (two-, three- and four-cut). For the three-cut regime, a preliminary biogas batch test was conducted. The three-cut regime had the highest annual accumulated dry matter yield (11.8–14.8 Mg ha−1), an average specific methane yield of 0.289 m3N kg−1 volatile solids−1 and an accumulated annual methane yield of 3167–3893 m³N ha−1. The four-cut regime performed least favorably due to a lower dry matter yield than the three-cut regime, the highest ash content and the highest nitrogen content. Thus, the three-cut regime promises the best yield performance, whereas the two-cut regime can potentially provide more ecosystem services such as biodiversity conservation and wild-game protection. Consequently, the two-cut regime could help improve the social-ecological sustainability of biogas crop cultivation.

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Renewable Energy from Wildflowers—Perennial Wild Plant Mixtures as a Social‐Ecologically Sustainable Biomass Supply System

Cossel

2020

Advanced Sustainable Systems

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A growing bioeconomy requires increasing amounts of biomass from residues, wastes, and industrial crops for bio‐based products and bioenergy. There is much discussion about how industrial crop cultivation could promote social–ecological outcomes such as environmental protection, biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation, food security, greenhouse gas mitigation, and landscape appearance. In Germany, maize (Zea mays L.) is the main biogas substrate source, despite being associated with problems such as erosion, biodiversity losses, an increase in wild boar populations and lowered landscape diversity. The cultivation of perennial wild plant mixtures (WPM) addresses many of these problems. Despite being less developed than maize, WPM cultivation has received notable attention among scientists in Germany over the past decade. This is mainly because WPMs clearly outperform maize in social–ecological measures, despite their methane yield performance. This review summarizes and discusses the results of 12 years of research and practice with WPMs as a social‐ecologically more benign bioenergy cropping system.

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Management effects on botanical composition of species-rich meadows within the Natura 2000 network

Cited by 13 publications

References 25 publications

Prospects of Bioenergy Cropping Systems for A More Social-Ecologically Sound Bioeconomy

Prospects of Bioenergy Cropping Systems for A More Social-Ecologically Sound Bioeconomy

The Performance of Mesotrophic Arrhenatheretum Grassland under Different Cutting Frequency Regimes for Biomass Production in Southwest Germany

Renewable Energy from Wildflowers—Perennial Wild Plant Mixtures as a Social‐Ecologically Sustainable Biomass Supply System

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