Social considerations for the cultivation of industrial crops on marginal agricultural land as feedstock for bioeconomy

Abstract

Marginal agricultural land (MAL) has received much attention in research and policy formation as a potential resource for cultivating biomass for energy and biobased products. However, it is still unclear whether biomass from MAL meets the requirements of social sustainability. This study develops a conceptual linkage between value‐chain analysis and social life‐cycle analysis (S‐LCA), and assesses both positive impacts (handprints) and negative impacts (footprints). A participatory approach including interviews and surveys was used to understand views and perceptions of the relevant stakeholders. A systemic strategy was applied to analyze value‐chain activities, understand challenges, and identify competitive advantages and disadvantages. For S‐LCA, the variety of impacts and indicators was met through a literature review and a consistent scoring system. The cultivation of perennial crops on MAL tends to cause skepticism among stakeholders, who are concerned about long‐term commitment and biodiversity risks. Annual crops, on the other hand, are perceived by all stakeholder categories as very promising opportunities across all impact categories and indicators. They can facilitate income diversification and offer smart sustainable cropping options through crop rotation, agroforestry, etc. Most of the technological pathways examined are highly innovative, have a low technological readiness level, and are still at the early market development stage. As such they are ranked by stakeholders as medium opportunities for short‐term implementation. In contrast, pyrolysis to industrial heat, ethanol from switchgrass, insulation material from hemp, and biogas/biomethane from sorghum are considered opportunities with good chances of being implemented in the short term. © 2022 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Industrial Chemistry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Assessment of Energy–Economy and Environmental Performance of Perennial Crops in Terms of Biogas Production

“…The proposed strategy by the "syngas road" for the evaluation of environmental performance showed higher levels of carbon utilization and better environmental performance, even though its technology may appear possible for only a plant capacity of 200 MW biomethane or more [79]. Some researchers determined that the higher GHG emissions for biogas utilization were caused by logged-over forests and the palm oil mill [77], and other research disclosed a conceptual linkage between supply-chain and social life-cycle analysis [80]. They emphasized that the cultivation of perennial plants can cause a lead between stakeholders.…”

Enviro‐economic and feasibility analysis of industrial hemp value chain: A systematic literature review

“…Key characteristics of a systematic literature review are that it minimizes the authors' propensity towards the research topic, ensures replicability, and imparts clarity in the review and synthesis process (Lau & Kuziemsky, 2016;Grant & Booth, 2009;Mengist et al, 2020). In addition, PRISMA is a robust reporting format prominently used in health sector research (Liberati et al, 2009), while also gaining in popularity in research realms such as social and agriculture sciences research (Nor Diana et al, 2021).…”

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

“…Some MAL in Europe may benefit from low/moderate levels of management instead of being fully abandoned, since agricultural maintenance can prevent landslides, wildfires, or erosion [112]. In environments where natural resources and technology are abundant, agricultural production (including MALLIS) may cause soil overexploitation and other environmental threats [113]. However, in economically marginal areas, land abandonment may result in greater environmental and landscape degradation, depending on site conditions and the long-term effects of previous use [114,115].…”

“…As the impacts of energy production increase with the continued increase in energy demand, the sustainable production of energy in Europe must become a goal when creating new policies [44]. Further, because of an ecosystem's ability to provision such services, social and cultural considerations should also be considered [40,113].…”