Jatropha production on wastelands in India: opportunities and trade‐offs for soil and water management at the watershed scale

Abstract

Biofuel production from feedstocks grown on wastelands is considered as a means to address concerns about climate change and improve energy security while at the same time provide an additional source of income. Establishment of biomass plantations on wastelands is likely to affect local livelihoods and can affect surrounding ecosystems by influencing hydrologic flows and processes such as erosion. We present an assessment of Jatropha plantation establishment on wastelands, using the ArcSWAT modeling tool.The assessment was made for a wasteland located in the Velchal watershed, Andhra Pradesh, India, which recently was converted to a biofuel plantation with Jatropha. The previous land-use, in this case grazing, could continue in the Jatropha plantations.Several desirable effects occurred as a result of the land-use conversion: non-productive 2 soil evaporation was reduced as a larger share of the precipitation was channeled to productive plant transpiration and groundwater recharge, and at the same time a more stable (less erosive) runoff resulted in reduced soil erosion and improved downstream water conditions. A win-win situation between improved land productivity and soil carbon content was observed for the Jatropha plantations. On the other hand, the results indicate that at the sub-basin scale, reductions in runoff generation as a result of largescale conversion of wastelands to Jatropha cropping may pose problems to downstream water users and ecosystems. From a livelihoods perspective, Jatropha production was generally positive, creating a complementary source of income to the farmers, thus strengthening the resilience of the local community. In the future, the potential gain from Jatropha cropping is expected to become higher as cropping systems improve and growing biofuel markets result in better conditions for biofuel producers.

A synthesis of the ecosystem services impact of second generation bioenergy crop production

“…Six studies described such transitions with four considering transitions from arable [44][45][46][47], three transitions from marginal land [48][49][50] and one from forest [51]. Although the production of bioenergy feedstocks fall within this category, we restrict our consideration to other crop and livestock production.…”

“…Although a limited set of studies met our criteria for inclusion [42,43,49,62,63] there is a well-developed literature that considers the implications of 2G feedstocks on water resources. At the landscape scale, intensity of production will have a significant influence on water resources.…”

Effect of farming system and yield in the life cycle assessment of Jatropha-based bioenergy in Mali

“…Given the high bioenergy potential of most sub-Saharan countries, it is claimed that harnessing and structuring the collection, conversion and use of biomass must be part of a greater developmental plan for energy security in the region (Mohammed et al, 2013). It is in the context of improving access to electricity that governments and NGO's throughout the region have been supporting projects for Jatropha-based off-grid energy solutions (Achten et al, 2007;Eckart and Henshaw, 2012;Favretto, 2013;Garg et al, 2011;Gilbert, 2011).…”

The Economic Viability of Jatropha Biodiesel in Nepal

“…greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, 3 reduced pressure on foreign exchange reserves, employment opportunity for unskilled agricultural labor, and reduced soil erosion in the hills (Mofijur et al, 2012;Garg et al, 2011;Eijck and Romijn, 2008;Achten et al, 2007). However, the critical question here is: would jatropha-based biodiesel be economically viable in Nepal?…”