A remote sensing methodology to assess the costs of preparing abandoned farmland for energy crop cultivation in northern Sweden

Abstract

In regions of extensive forest cover relative to agricultural open ground, as in northern Scandinavia, farmland abandonment greatly changes the landscape pattern. Cultivation of herbaceous energy crops would help to keep an open landscape as a positive side effect of bioenergy production and the lowland rental costs of abandoned farmland would positively improve the economy of energy grass cultivation. For this study, in the municipality of Bjurholm in the northeast of Sweden, a method was developed to separate abandoned fields into two classes, A and 13, with low and high preparation costs, respectively, by using digital orthophoto interpretation. From field studies of a chosen sample, the mean preparation cost per hectare was determined to be 173 and 3990 SEK, respectively, for fields in class A and B. Peat and fine sediment soils had higher preparation costs than coarse sediment soils, (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved

Published in

Biomass and Bioenergy
2005, volume: 28, number: 1, pages: 1-6
Publisher: PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

SLU Authors

• Larsson, Sylvia

  • Department of Forest Biomaterials and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Nilsson, Calle

  • Department of Forest Biomaterials and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Renewable Bioenergy Research
Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use
Agricultural Science

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2004.05.003

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/5678