Soil Erosion and Forests Biomass as Energy Resource in the Basin of the Oka River in Biscay, Northern Spain

Abstract

Abstract:The aim of this work has been the development of a methodology for the evaluation of residual forest biomass in Biscay, a province in northern Spain. The study area is located in the Oka river basin, an area of great ecological value qualified by UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 1984 as a Biosphere Reserve. The project tries to determine the potential, available and usable as energy resource, residual forests biomass, after the treatments of forest species in the area. Soil erosion was modeled using the USLE (Universal Soil Loss Equation) and MUSLE (Modified USLE) methods by estimating rainfall erosivity factor (R), the soil erodibility factor (K), the topographic factors (L and S), cropping factor (C), and the conservation practice factor (P). By means of these models, it will be possible to determine the current soil erosion rate and its potential evolution due to different forest treatments. Soil erodibility, slope of the terrain and the loss of SOC (Soil Organic Carbon) were the restrictive indicators for the bioenergy use of forest biomass, taking into account principles of sustainability. The amount of residual forestry biomass useable for energy purposes has been estimated at 4858.23 Mg year −1 .

Soil Erosion Modeling and Comparison Using Slope Units and Grid Cells in Shihmen Reservoir Watershed in Northern Taiwan

“…The site also exhibits a typical recurrence of the alternation of erosion and landslides, which are common in the area. Figure 2b shows the Ronghua Dam, which is situated 27 km upstream of the Shihmen reservoir, and was constructed in 1983 with a capacity of 12.4 million m 3 . The Ronghua Dam serves as a hydropower facility, but its main function was as a check dam to protect the Shihmen reservoir (Shihmen Dam).…”

“…Due to the amount and intensity of the rainfall, the rainfall erosivity value of Taiwan is many times higher than the global average obtained by Borrelli et al [2], making water erosion a very serious concern in Taiwan. In fact, not just in Taiwan, the concern of soil erosion has been evident in many published studies in different parts of the world, including Europe [3,4], the US and Mexico [5,6], mainland China [7,8], India [9,10], Africa [11,12], Australia [13,14], etc. A steady increase in the number of studies on soil erosion in the last few years has also prompted a few regional and global studies that provide a bigger picture of the emerging crisis [2,[15][16][17].…”

Linking Biophysical and Economic Assessments of Ecosystem Services for a Social–Ecological Approach to Conservation Planning: Application in a Biosphere Reserve (Biscay, Spain)

“…To counteract, fast-turnover plantations were expanded thanks to policies that encouraged subsidized planting of Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus sp. monocultures (30-and 10-year rotation, respectively) [50]. Consequently, the social-ecological resilience of the study area has been threatened [48] and the landscape diversity and complexity have been reduced with serious ecological consequences [47,48], altering its capacity to supply ES [51].…”

Mapping the environmental and techno‐economic potential of biojet fuel production from biomass residues in Brazil

“…11,12,16 Many studies have quantified the biomass residue potential considering spatial variation in environmental constraints. 10,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] At a global level, Daioglou et al 17 projected ecological potential from crop and forestry residues of 70-100 EJ/year by applying fixed removal rates to account for environmental constraints. Monforti et al 19 estimated a potential of 2.3 EJ/year of biomass residues in Europe considering soil organic carbon (SOC) conservation as a constraint for crop-residue removal.…”