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Bioenergy Development Policy and Practice Must Recognize Potential Hydrologic Impacts: Lessons from the Americas

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Abstract

Large-scale bioenergy production will affect the hydrologic cycle in multiple ways, including changes in canopy interception, evapotranspiration, infiltration, and the quantity and quality of surface runoff and groundwater recharge. As such, the water footprints of bioenergy sources vary significantly by type of feedstock, soil characteristics, cultivation practices, and hydro-climatic regime. Furthermore, water management implications of bioenergy production depend on existing land use, relative water availability, and competing water uses at a watershed scale. This paper reviews previous research on the water resource impacts of bioenergy production—from plot-scale hydrologic and nutrient cycling impacts to watershed and regional scale hydro-economic systems relationships. Primary gaps in knowledge that hinder policy development for integrated management of water–bioenergy systems are highlighted. Four case studies in the Americas are analyzed to illustrate relevant spatial and temporal scales for impact assessment, along with unique aspects of biofuel production compared to other agroforestry systems, such as energy-related conflicts and tradeoffs. Based on the case studies, the potential benefits of integrated resource management are assessed, as is the need for further case-specific research.

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Acknowledgments

This material is based upon work supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation grants CBET-1140152 “RCN-SEES: A Research Coordination Network on Pan American Biofuels and Bioenergy Sustainability” and OISE-1105039 “PIRE: Sustainability, Ecosystem Services, and Bioenergy Development Across the Americas.” The authors appreciate comments from the editor and three reviewers which helped to improve the manuscript substantially.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, USA

    David W. Watkins Jr. & Alex S. Mayer

  2. Department of Economics, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil

    Márcia M. G. Alcoforado de Moraes, Ana Cristina Guimaraes Carneiro & Bruna da Nobrega Germano

  3. Department of Natural Resources and Environment, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA

    Heidi Asbjornsen & Jose Gutierrez Lopez

  4. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuraria, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Julian Licata

  5. Department of Natural Resource Science, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, Canada

    Thomas G. Pypker

  6. Department of Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Vivianna Gamez Molina

  7. Department of Civil Engineering, Instituto de Pesquisas Hidráulicas (IPH), Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Guilherme Fernandes Marques

  8. Department of Economics, Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE), Aguascalientes, Mexico

    Hector M. Nuñez

  9. Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA

    Hayri Önal

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  1. David W. Watkins Jr.
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Correspondence to David W. Watkins Jr..

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Watkins, D.W., de Moraes, M.M.G.A., Asbjornsen, H. et al. Bioenergy Development Policy and Practice Must Recognize Potential Hydrologic Impacts: Lessons from the Americas. Environmental Management 56, 1295–1314 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-015-0460-x

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