Is the expansion of sugarcane over pasturelands a sustainable strategy for Brazil's bioenergy industry?

Author(s):Show less -

Oliveira, Dener M. S. ^{[1, 2]} ; Cherubin, Mauricio R. ^{[3, 1]} ; Franco, Andre L. C. ^[4] ; Santos, Augusto S. ^[1] ; Gelain, Jaquelini G. ^[1] ; Dias, Naissa M. S. ^[3] ; Diniz, Tatiana R. ^[3] ; Almeida, Alexandre N. ^[1] ; Feigl, Brigitte J. ^[3] ; Davies, Christian A. ^[5] ; Paustian, Keith ^[6] ; Karlen, Douglas L. ^[7] ; Smith, Pete ^[8] ; Cerri, Carlos C. ^[3] ; Cerri, Carlos E. P. ^{[3, 1]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Luiz de Queiroz Coll Agr, BR-13418260 Piracicaba, SP - Brazil

^[2] Fed Inst Goiano, Multiuser Lab Nat Sci, Campus Posse, BR-73900000 Posse, Go - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Ctr Nucl Energy Agr, BR-13416000 Piracicaba, SP - Brazil

^[4] Colorado State Univ, Dept Biol, Ft Collins, CO 80523 - USA

^[5] Shell Technol Ctr Houston, Houston, TX 77082 - USA

^[6] Colorado State Univ, Nat Resource Ecol Lab, Ft Collins, CO 80523 - USA

^[7] USDA ARS, Natl Lab Agr & Environm, Ames, IA 50011 - USA

^[8] Univ Aberdeen, Inst Biol & Environm Sci, Aberdeen AB24 3UU - Scotland

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS; v. 102, p. 346-355, MAR 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 4

Abstract

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. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/14122-6 - Estimating soil carbon changes regarding sugarcane expansion into pastures in Brazil
• Grantee: Dener Márcio da Silva Oliveira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 13/17581-6 - SOIL QUALITY IN AREAS OF LAND USE CHANGE FOR SUGARCANE CULTIVATION IN SOUTH-CENTER OF BRAZIL - data for the evaluation of environmental sustainability of ethanol
• Grantee: Maurício Roberto Cherubin
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 14/08632-9 - Soil organic matter in land use change areas under sugarcane cultivation in south central region of Brazil
• Grantee: Dener Márcio da Silva Oliveira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 14/16612-8 - Soil quality indicator response to land use change
• Grantee: Maurício Roberto Cherubin
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 18/09845-7 - Implications of expansion and management intensification on soil ecosystem services
• Grantee: Maurício Roberto Cherubin
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants