Greenhouse-gas payback times for crop-based biofuels

Elshout, Pieter M. F.; Zelm, Rosalie van; Balkovič, Juraj; Obersteiner, Michael; Schmid, Erwin; Skalský, Rastislav; Velde, Marijn van der; Huijbregts, Mark A. J.

doi:10.1038/nclimate2642

Cited by 54 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…However, converting marginal lands will not interfere with food production. Our simulations were generally consistent with previous findings (Qin et al ., , ; Elshout et al ., ), suggesting that switchgrass and miscanthus could increase carbon sequestration.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Processes of land management such as crop type, planting, harvesting, fertilization, and irrigation were added. In this study, the two major agricultural management practices, fertilization, and irrigation are accounted for, because these two management practices are considered to be crucial in determining carbon sequestration potentials of biofuel crops (Elshout et al ., ). The irrigation parameterization scheme is based loosely on the implementation of Ozdogan et al .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Importance of biophysical effects on climate warming mitigation potential of biofuel crops over the conterminous United States

et al. 2016

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Current quantification of climate warming mitigation potential (CWMP) of biomass-derived energy has focused primarily on its biogeochemical effects. This study used site-level observations of carbon, water, and energy fluxes of biofuel crops to parameterize and evaluate the community land model (CLM) and estimate CO 2 fluxes, surface energy balance, soil carbon dynamics of corn (Zea mays), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), and miscanthus (Miscanthus 9 giganteus) ecosystems across the conterminous United States considering different agricultural management practices and land-use scenarios. We find that neglecting biophysical effects underestimates the CWMP of transitioning from croplands and marginal lands to energy crops. Biogeochemical effects alone result in changes in carbon storage of À1.9, 49.1, and 69.3 g C m À2 y À1 compared to 20.5, 78.5, and 96.2 g C m À2 y À1when considering both biophysical and biogeochemical effects for corn, switchgrass, and miscanthus, respectively. The biophysical contribution to CWMP is dominated by changes in latent heat fluxes. Using the model to optimize growth conditions through fertilization and irrigation increases the CWMP further to 79.6, 98.3, and 118.8 g C m À2 y À1 , respectively, representing the upper threshold for CWMP. Results also show that the CWMP over marginal lands is lower than that over croplands. This study highlights that neglecting the biophysical effects of altered surface energy and water balance underestimates the CWMP of transitioning to bioenergy crops at regional scales.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Importance of biophysical effects on climate warming mitigation potential of biofuel crops over the conterminous United States

et al. 2016

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“…However, knowledge about the initial natural state of the land under consideration reduces those uncertainties. For example, whether the initial natural state was natural forest or semidesert, the biomass production capacity of the land will be very different (Haberl 2013;Elshout et al 2015). The initial natural state provides information on the limits to which the ecosystem quality may regenerate when the occupation of land ends, despite the fact that human actions may change these limits to some extent.…”

Section: 'Natural Regeneration'mentioning

confidence: 98%

Attributional life cycle assessment: is a land-use baseline necessary?

Soimakallio

Cowie

Brandão³

et al. 2015

Int J Life Cycle Assess

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Purpose This paper aims to clarify the application of a landuse baseline in attributional life cycle assessment (ALCA) for product systems involving land use, through consideration of the fundamental purpose of ALCA. Currently, there is no clear view in the literature whether a baseline should be used when accounting for environmentally relevant physical flows related to land use. Methods An extensive search of literature was carried out using the key terms 'attributional life cycle assessment' and 'attributional LCA' in the Google Scholar web search engine. Approximately 700 publications were reviewed and summarised according to their type and scope, relevance of land use, key statements and references given for ALCA, and arguments for and against using a baseline in ALCA. Based on the literature review and supplementary literature references, a critical discussion on the use of a baseline and determination of the most appropriate land-use baseline in ALCA is provided. Results and discussion A few studies clearly argued that only absolute (observable) flows without a baseline are to be inventoried in ALCA, while the majority of the studies did not make any clear statement for or against. On the other hand, a land-use baseline was explicitly applied or proposed in a minority of the studies only, despite the fact that we classified land use as highly relevant for the majority of the studies reviewed. Furthermore, the LCA guidelines reviewed give contradictory recommendations. The most cited studies for the definition of ALCA provide general rules for selecting processes based on observable flows but do not argue that observable flows necessarily describe the environmentally relevant physical flows. Conclusions We conclude that a baseline is required to separate the studied parts of the technosphere from natural processes and to describe the impact of land use on ecosystem quality, such as carbon sequestration and biodiversity. The most coherent baseline for human-induced land-use in ALCA is natural regeneration. As the natural-regeneration baseline has typically been excluded, may vary bio-geographically and temporally, and is subject to uncertainties, case studies applying it should be performed so that implications can be studied and evaluated. This is particularly important for agricultural and forestry systems, such as food, feed, fibre, timber and biofuels. Responsible editor: Matthias FinkbeinerElectronic supplementary material The online version of this article (

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“…Unlike bio-based products from forest products, agricultural bio-based products have a short time between the emission from fuel and uptake of the same amount of carbon by new crops and therefore will have very limited or no climate impact (Elshout et al, 2015). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Novel Routes of Biomethane Utilization in a Life Cycle Perspective

Moghaddam

Ahlgren

Nordberg

2016

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

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Biomethane, as a replacement for natural gas, reduces the use of fossil-based sources and supports the intended change from fossil to bio-based industry. The study assessed different biomethane utilization routes for production of methanol, dimethyl ether (DME), and ammonia, as fuel or platform chemicals and combined heat and power (CHP). Energy efficiency and environmental impacts of the different pathways was studied in a life cycle perspective covering the technical system from biomass production to the end product. Among the routes studied, CHP had the highest energy balance and least environmental impact. DME and methanol performed competently in energy balance and environmental impacts in comparison with the ammonia route. DME had the highest total energy output, as fuel, heat, and steam, among the different routes studied. Substituting the bio-based routes for fossil-based alternatives would give a considerable reduction in environmental impacts such as global warming potential and acidification potential for all routes studied, especially CHP, DME, and methanol. Eutrophication potential was mainly a result of biomass and biomethane production, with marginal differences between the different routes.

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Greenhouse-gas payback times for crop-based biofuels

Cited by 54 publications

References 47 publications

Importance of biophysical effects on climate warming mitigation potential of biofuel crops over the conterminous United States

Importance of biophysical effects on climate warming mitigation potential of biofuel crops over the conterminous United States

Attributional life cycle assessment: is a land-use baseline necessary?

Assessment of Novel Routes of Biomethane Utilization in a Life Cycle Perspective

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