Abstract

Society faces the double challenge of increasing biomass production to meet the future demands for food, materials and bioenergy, while addressing negative impacts of current (and future) land use. In the discourse, land use change (LUC) has often been considered as negative, referring to impacts of deforestation and expansion of biomass plantations. However, strategic establishment of suitable perennial production systems in agricultural landscapes can mitigate environmental impacts of current crop production, while providing biomass for the bioeconomy. Here, we explore the potential for such "beneficial LUC" in EU28. First, we map and quantify the degree of accumulated soil organic carbon losses, soil loss by wind and water erosion, nitrogen emissions to water, and recurring floods, in similar to 81.000 individual landscapes in EU28. We then estimate the effectiveness in mitigating these impacts through establishment of perennial plants, in each landscape. The results indicate that there is a substantial potential for effective impact mitigation. Depending on criteria selection, 10-46% of the land used for annual crop production in EU28 is located in landscapes that could be considered priority areas for beneficial LUC. These areas are scattered all over Europe, but there are notable "hot-spots" where priority areas are concentrated, e.g., large parts of Denmark, western UK, The Po valley in Italy, and the Danube basin. While some policy developments support beneficial LUC, implementation could benefit from attempts to realize synergies between different Sustainable Development Goals, e.g., "Zero hunger", "Clean water and sanitation", "Affordable and Clean Energy", "Climate Action", and "Life on Land".

Keywords

Land use; LUC; Biomass; Environmental impacts; Ecosystem services; Perennial crops

Published in

Global Environmental Change
2020, Volume: 60, article number: 101990
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCI LTD

SLU Authors

• Dimitriou, Ioannis

  • Department of Crop Production Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Mola-Yudego, Blas

  • Department of Crop Production Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • University of Eastern Finland

Sustainable Development Goals

Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss


UKÄ Subject classification

Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2019.101990

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/104897