Abstract
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 346-355 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews |
| Volume | 102 |
| Early online date | 20 Dec 2018 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2019 |
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Keywords
- ecosystem services
- land use change
- biofuels
- sustainability index
Cite this
Is the expansion of sugarcane over pasturelands a sustainable strategy for Brazil's bioenergy industry? / Oliveira, Dener M. S. (Corresponding Author); Cherubin, Maurício R.; Franco, André L. C.; Santos, Augusto S.; Gelain, Jaquelini G.; Dias, Naissa M. S.; Diniz, Tatiana R.; Almeida, Alexandre N.; Feigl, Brigitte J.; Davies, Christian A.; Paustian, Keith; Karlen, Douglas L.; Smith, Pete; Cerri, Carlos C.; Cerri, Carlos E. P.
In: Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 102, 03.2019, p. 346-355.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Is the expansion of sugarcane over pasturelands a sustainable strategy for Brazil's bioenergy industry?
AU - Oliveira, Dener M. S.
AU - Cherubin, Maurício R.
AU - Franco, André L. C.
AU - Santos, Augusto S.
AU - Gelain, Jaquelini G.
AU - Dias, Naissa M. S.
AU - Diniz, Tatiana R.
AU - Almeida, Alexandre N.
AU - Feigl, Brigitte J.
AU - Davies, Christian A.
AU - Paustian, Keith
AU - Karlen, Douglas L.
AU - Smith, Pete
AU - Cerri, Carlos C.
AU - Cerri, Carlos E. P.
N1 - The authors gratefully thank the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) (grants # 2014/08632-9 # 2015/14122-6, # 2013/17581-6, # 2014/16612-8 and 2018/09845-7) for the scholarship granted while this research was carried out, and CNPq (grants # 402992/2013-0 and # 311661/2014-9) for the financial support of the present research. Anonymous reviewers are also thanked for their valuable criticisms and comments, which led to substantial improvements of this manuscript.
PY - 2019/3
Y1 - 2019/3
N2 - Biofuels are fundamental for meeting societal energy needs within the next few decades, but the sustainability of large-scale land use conversions to supply feedstock crops remains unclear. Quantitative data documenting how biofuel crop expansion will affect ecosystem services (ES) is needed to develop sustainable energy policies. Using pairwise comparisons of published and novel environmental, social and economic indicators, we quantitatively assessed the provision of critical ES related to key aspects of the sustainability of pasture-to-sugarcane transitions in Brazil. We found that with the exception of maintaining biodiversity, conversion of pasturelands to sugarcane fields enhanced many ES. Based on the Sustainability index, aimed to capture changes on key sustainability aspects by considering multiple ES and properly integrating them, we concluded that pasture to sugarcane transitions would increase the sustainability by 78% in south-central Brazil. Our results provide science-based empirical evidence that the expansion of sugarcane into degraded pasturelands is a suitable strategy to enhance Brazil’s biomass feedstock supplies for producing bioenergy. Moreover, facing the complex and multidimensional concept of sustainability, our study also illustrates the importance of considering holistically land use change effects rather than individual ESs when establishing sustainable land management practices and bioenergy policies.
AB - Biofuels are fundamental for meeting societal energy needs within the next few decades, but the sustainability of large-scale land use conversions to supply feedstock crops remains unclear. Quantitative data documenting how biofuel crop expansion will affect ecosystem services (ES) is needed to develop sustainable energy policies. Using pairwise comparisons of published and novel environmental, social and economic indicators, we quantitatively assessed the provision of critical ES related to key aspects of the sustainability of pasture-to-sugarcane transitions in Brazil. We found that with the exception of maintaining biodiversity, conversion of pasturelands to sugarcane fields enhanced many ES. Based on the Sustainability index, aimed to capture changes on key sustainability aspects by considering multiple ES and properly integrating them, we concluded that pasture to sugarcane transitions would increase the sustainability by 78% in south-central Brazil. Our results provide science-based empirical evidence that the expansion of sugarcane into degraded pasturelands is a suitable strategy to enhance Brazil’s biomass feedstock supplies for producing bioenergy. Moreover, facing the complex and multidimensional concept of sustainability, our study also illustrates the importance of considering holistically land use change effects rather than individual ESs when establishing sustainable land management practices and bioenergy policies.
KW - ecosystem services
KW - land use change
KW - biofuels
KW - sustainability index
UR - http://www.mendeley.com/research/expansion-sugarcane-pasturelands-sustainable-strategy-brazils-bioenergy-industry
U2 - 10.1016/j.rser.2018.12.012
DO - 10.1016/j.rser.2018.12.012
M3 - Article
VL - 102
SP - 346
EP - 355
JO - Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
JF - Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
SN - 1364-0321
ER -