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A Novel Land-Energy Use Indicator for Energy Crops

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Agroecology and Strategies for Climate Change

Part of the book series: Sustainable Agriculture Reviews ((SARV,volume 8))

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Abstract

The growth of the bioenergy field raises a myriad of problems, including the selection of the most appropriate crops and cropping systems, the trade-off between land to be allocated for bioenergy and for food production, the appraisal of the agro-energy systems sustainability in their economic, social and ecological aspects. A correct approach to such multifarious problems requires unbiased and transparent procedures, based on accepted common protocols and metrics, permitting to objectively compare and rank all the possible solutions. This chapter focuses on the evaluation of resource inputs to energy crops, in one attempt to contribute to clarify the existing confusion in terms and appraisal methods and to offer a tool for supporting the correct evaluation of contrasting crops and farming systems. Currently, energy use is analyzed mainly in terms of difference between output and input, of ratio between output and input, of annual energy input per unit of surface, and of energy input per specific crop yield. Here the criticism to all such “uni-dimensional” indicators is illustrated, and a novel indicator, combining land and energy use in crop systems and potentially including more aspects - is proposed. This novel, bi-dimensional “Land and Energy Use Indicator” (LEUI) and its advantages vis-à-vis uni-dimensional indicators are demonstrated with specific examples in the comparison of four energy crops. By evidencing the difference with other indicators, it is also demonstrated how this indicator avoids misleading conclusions in the comparison of organic and non-organic farming systems. It is suggested that its adoption can reduce the room for intended or unintended misinformation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bioresource Technology Unit, National Technical University, Athens, Greece

    E. G. Koukios

  2. Department of Agricultural Engineering, University of Catania, Catania, Italy

    V. Sardo

Authors
  1. E. G. Koukios
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  2. V. Sardo
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Correspondence to V. Sardo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. INRA-CMSE-PME, rue Sully 17, Dijon, 21000, France

    Eric Lichtfouse

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Koukios, E.G., Sardo, V. (2012). A Novel Land-Energy Use Indicator for Energy Crops. In: Lichtfouse, E. (eds) Agroecology and Strategies for Climate Change. Sustainable Agriculture Reviews, vol 8. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1905-7_6

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