I am currently researching the emission variations between agricultural land and energy crop cultivation. There is extensive literature about the argument of preserving agricultural land for food production and keeping energy crop production separate. This is primarily due to the increasing demand of food and decreasing available land for such agriculture.

My research has led me to the understanding that there are additional carbon emissions that need to be accounted for when calculating the environmental impacts of energy crops. This is due to previously stored carbon in the soils of uncultivated land, such as grassland, which is released once cultivation begins.

Is anyone working on or know of a study that has extensively calculated the emissions of both separate land uses and/or the variations between the same piece of land being used for agriculture and then converted into energy crops?