The Effect of &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Miscanthus&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt; Cultivation on the Biodiversity of Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae), Spiders and Harvestmen (Arachnida: Araneae and Opiliones)

Williams, Michael A.; Feest, Alan

doi:10.4236/as.2019.107069

Cited by 13 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…However, the underlying implications for this are less obvious, and caution is required when making general assumptions. For instance, it has been shown that the impacts of the plantation of perennial crops may range from positive to even negative impacts on biodiversity compared to annual crops [97,[103][104][105][106][107]. For example, miscanthus cultivation supports earthworm communities [89], but it does not provide nectar and pollen for pollinators as do wide crop rotations including flower-rich catch crops such as flax (Linum usitatissimum L.), lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) and Phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth.)…”

Section: Bioenergy Crop Cultivation and Biodiversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Prospects of Bioenergy Cropping Systems for A More Social-Ecologically Sound Bioeconomy

et al. 2019

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The growing bioeconomy will require a greater supply of biomass in the future for both bioenergy and bio-based products. Today, many bioenergy cropping systems (BCS) are suboptimal due to either social-ecological threats or technical limitations. In addition, the competition for land between bioenergy-crop cultivation, food-crop cultivation, and biodiversity conservation is expected to increase as a result of both continuous world population growth and expected severe climate change effects. This study investigates how BCS can become more social-ecologically sustainable in future. It brings together expert opinions from the fields of agronomy, economics, meteorology, and geography. Potential solutions to the following five main requirements for a more holistically sustainable supply of biomass are summarized: (i) bioenergy-crop cultivation should provide a beneficial social-ecological contribution, such as an increase in both biodiversity and landscape aesthetics, (ii) bioenergy crops should be cultivated on marginal agricultural land so as not to compete with food-crop production, (iii) BCS need to be resilient in the face of projected severe climate change effects, (iv) BCS should foster rural development and support the vast number of small-scale family farmers, managing about 80% of agricultural land and natural resources globally, and (v) bioenergy-crop cultivation must be planned and implemented systematically, using holistic approaches. Further research activities and policy incentives should not only consider the economic potential of bioenergy-crop cultivation, but also aspects of biodiversity, soil fertility, and climate change adaptation specific to site conditions and the given social context. This will help to adapt existing agricultural systems in a changing world and foster the development of a more social-ecologically sustainable bioeconomy.

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Section: Bioenergy Crop Cultivation and Biodiversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Prospects of Bioenergy Cropping Systems for A More Social-Ecologically Sound Bioeconomy

et al. 2019

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“…The long period of soil dormancy and the low use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers in Miscanthus cultivation offers a number of ecological advantages (Heaton et al, 2008; Von Cossel, Lewandowski, et al, 2019), for both the cultivation site (agroecosystem) (Felten & Emmerling, 2011; Jørgensen et al, 2014; Williams & Feest, 2019) and adjacent ecosystems such as flowing or stagnant water bodies (Christian & Riche, 1998).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, biomass crops should be grown on marginal agricultural land, where food production is compromised by adverse climatic, geographical, geological, or economic factors (Carlsson et al, 2017; Fernando et al, 2015, 2018; Galatsidas et al, 2018; Gelfand et al, 2013; Gopalakrishnan et al, 2011; Lask et al, 2019; Nabel et al, 2018; Von Cossel, Lewandowski, et al, 2019; Wagner et al, 2019; Xue et al, 2016). Perennial biomass crops have distinct advantages on above‐ and below‐ground biodiversity (Bellamy et al, 2009; Williams & Feest, 2019), soil fertility, groundwater protection (Ferrarini et al, 2017; Mishra et al, 2019), climate change mitigation (Clifton‐Brown et al, 2017; Emmerling & Pude, 2017; McCalmont et al, 2017), and carbon sequestration (Bui et al, 2018; Canadell & Schulze, 2014). Hence the production of perennial crops on marginal agricultural land carries the potential to restore degraded agricultural lands, which, at a later stage, can (again) become attractive for food production (Barbosa et al, 2015, 2018; Fiorentino et al, 2018; Pogrzeba et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bridging the Gap Between Biofuels and Biodiversity Through Monetizing Environmental Services of Miscanthus Cultivation

et al. 2020

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Carbon neutrality in the transport sector is a key challenge for the growing bioeconomy as the share of biofuels has stagnated over the past decade. This can be attributed to basic economics and a lack of a robust market for these technologies. Consequently, more sustainable biomass supply concepts are required that reduce negative impacts on the environment and at the same time promote environmental services for sustainable agricultural cropping systems including erosion prevention, soil fertility improvement, greenhouse gas mitigation, and carbon sequestration. One promising concept is the cultivation of perennial biomass crops such as Miscanthus (Miscanthus Andersson) as biofuel feedstock. In this study, the multiple environmental services provided by Miscanthus are first explored and subsequently monetized. Then the integration of Miscanthus cultivation for biomass production into European agricultural systems is assessed. One hectare of Miscanthus provides society with environmental services to a value of 1,200 to 4,183 € a −1. These services are even more pronounced when cultivation takes place on marginal agricultural land. The integration of Miscanthus into existing agricultural practices aids both conservation and further optimization of socioeconomic welfare and landscape diversification. As these environmental services are more beneficial to the public than the Miscanthus farmers, subsidies are required to close the gap between biofuels and biodiversity that are calculated based on the provision of environmental services. Similar approaches to that developed in this study may be suitable for the implementation of other biomass cropping systems and therefore help foster the transition to a bioeconomy.

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“…Until recently, the literature mostly discussed the environmental and economic benefits of energy crops growing, but now scientists identify a number of associated risks: the impact on land and water resources, biodiversity, changes in agriculture [Pidlisnyuk and Kolisnyk, 2013; Renewable energy in Europe..., 2019; Williams and Feest, 2019]. Allelopathy is one of the potential important risks associated with the growth of energy crops.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Aspects of Allelopathic Interactions of Energy Crops

Moskalyk¹,

Leheta²,

Zhuk³

et al. 2021

J. Ecol. Eng.

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The allelopathic potential of classical energy crops (Panicum virgatum L., Sorghum saccharatum (L.) Moench, hybrids 'Zubr' and 'Medovyi') was studied by the energy of germination of biotesters' seeds and their biometric parameters, as well as the selection of sensitive biotesters and test traits. Secale cereale L. and Raphanus sativus L. var. radicula Pers. were used as biotesters. The selectivity of secretions action has been proven -the aqueous extracts from the same energy plant caused different reactions in acceptor plants. The obtained results indirectly indicate the allelopathic potential of energy crops P. virgatum and S. saccharatum. A decrease in the germination energy of the biotester R. sativus var. radicula seeds as well as reduction of underground and aboveground parts of both R. sativus var. radicula and S. cereale were observed under the effect of aqueous extracts of studied energy crops. In order to confirm an allelopathic potential of energy crops, using multiple test signs of different biotesters is suggested.

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The Effect of <i>Miscanthus</i> Cultivation on the Biodiversity of Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae), Spiders and Harvestmen (Arachnida: Araneae and Opiliones)

Cited by 13 publications

References 26 publications

Prospects of Bioenergy Cropping Systems for A More Social-Ecologically Sound Bioeconomy

Prospects of Bioenergy Cropping Systems for A More Social-Ecologically Sound Bioeconomy

Bridging the Gap Between Biofuels and Biodiversity Through Monetizing Environmental Services of Miscanthus Cultivation

Ecological Aspects of Allelopathic Interactions of Energy Crops

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