Method for spatially explicit calculations of potential biomass yields andassessment of laud availability for biomass energy production in Northeastern Brazil
Lc. Schneider et al., Method for spatially explicit calculations of potential biomass yields andassessment of laud availability for biomass energy production in Northeastern Brazil, AGR ECO ENV, 84(3), 2001, pp. 207-226
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has suggested that lar
ge-scale use of carbon-neutral or low-carbon biomass-derived energy will be
essential in order to limit carbon emissions from the world's energy secto
r in the future. The IPCC envisions as much as 400 million ha being devoted
to biomass energy plantations by 2050. To realize production of biomass en
ergy at such levels - in a manner that would be both biogeophysically susta
inable and socially beneficial - will require planning and policy developme
nt at sub-national levels, taking into account biogeophysical, social, cult
ural, economic, institutional, and other factors. This paper presents a met
hod for spatially explicit calculations for estimating potential biomass yi
elds over relatively large geographic regions. The calculations use geo-ref
erenced data inputs that include rainfall, insolation, temperature, soil qu
ality, and soil depth. The methodology is applied to the Northeast region o
f Brazil, which accounts for 10% of the area of South America. Northeast Br
azil is an interesting site for illustrative purposes in part because it is
biologically, geologically, and socio-economically diverse and in part bec
ause the main electric utility serving the region is exploring the developm
ent of biomass-based electricity generation to meet future increases in ele
ctricity demand. Results from a spatially explicit, biogeophysical model li
ke that presented here could be combined with other spatially explicit info
rmation such as road layouts, existing land uses, population densities and
growth rates, distributions of endangered species, archeologically signific
ant areas, etc. to inform planning and policy development related to biomas
s energy at a regional or national level. One illustration of such an analy
sis is included here. For on-the-ground implementation of biomass productio
n systems, finer-resolution analysis and intimate local participation is es
sential. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.