Biomass energy has been suggested as a key instrument for promoting social, economic and environmental development. However, this very much depends on what is planted/utilised, what is replaced, how it is managed, where/which part of the landscape it is located, how local communities engaged and so on… This discussion aim to clarify under what condition biomass energy becomes part of the solution NOT the problem…
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/325/5938/270
I do not know the right answer to your question (maybe it does not exist), but I found an interesting conflict in forestry about using woody feedstocks for bioenergy production.
The dilemma is what the best:
a) store the carbon in the trees, let them fall and store for a while
b) use timber for long lifetime products (furniture, building) to store the carbon
c) use trees to produce bioenergy.
Each one has its sub categories what provides more or less benefits from the sustainability perspective.
Each one is preferred by a group of stakeholders, and plenty of studies are available, I contributed a little bit to the discussions.
The relevant part regarding your question is that the unused tree decomposed in the forests is a lost opportunity for the humanity forever, it is a non-recoverable loss. I think the same about the underutilization of lands. Once your production season is over and you have not harvested, it has gone forever.
Algae probably have the highest photosynthetic efficiency of any plants. They also have a short life cycle and can yield continuous harvests much sooner than other plants, especially trees which typically take a long time to grow. Among higher plants, bamboo probably has the fastest growth rate, up to 3 feet per day under optimum conditions. But I don't know if bamboo crops can be grown consecutively, or if they can be grown on degraded land. Sugarcane, where it can be grown, also has high yields.
1. Using (indigenous) perennial bioenergy crops (possibly) in agroforestry systems. It helps to diversify the landscapes and maintain heterogeneity - provides habitats for birds/animals and supports farmers in climate change adaptation.
2. Spatial arrangements of bioenergy crops to tap runoffs, and nutrients leaked from the agricultural lands e.g. as buffer crops (also keeps the landscape healthy-enhance resource efficiency and control pollution).
3. Technology – storage, processing, and use are available at the local level.
The selection of bioenergy crops suitable for degraded and underutilized land which requires less input and the bioenergy production/yield is high. Its multiple used should also be considered e.g. residues could be utilized for cooking, fertilizer production etc. Such bioenergy crops should be selected taking into account its multiple ecosystem services.
Good question, without a simple and direct answer. There are several feedstocks and routes to convert chemical energy fixed by photosynthesis in useful forms of energy such as electricity, useful heat and mechanical power; presenting different impacts and in many cases able to accomplish sustainability requirements, depending on the particular conditions of site, scale, capacity and other aspects.
Fortunately, mainly in wet tropical regions of Latin America and South of Africa, still exists large tracts of land available for agriculture, where is possible to foster efficient bioenergy systems, with gains in socioeconomic dimensions, including an increase in food security and improvement in the local and global environmental indicators. The following papers, available for download in ResearchGate, introduce some perspectives of bioenergy systems deployment in Southern Africa:
a. Potential of Sugarcane in Modern Energy Development in Southern Africa,
in Frontiers in Energy Research, Dec 2016
b. Bioenergy and African transformation, in Biotechnology for Biofuels, Feb 2015
As I mentioned, this question is not a simple one, but it is certainly relevant. Not all kind of bioenergy is sustainable and feasible, but there are many very attractive. A good reference for this discussion is the very comprehensive study SCOPE Bioenergy & Sustainability: bridging the gaps, a collective effort with contributions from 137 researchers of 82 institutions in 24 countries, available for download free in the link below.
http://bioenfapesp.org/scopebioenergy/index.php
Adding a couple of new papers related to this:
Chapter Nature-Based Solution for Balancing the Food, Energy, and En...
Article Integrating bioenergy and food production on degraded landsc...
Biomass energy can be a potential solution, if we consider suitable species for modeling targeting to:
a. improving biodiversity
b. restoring degraded land
c. improving and diversifying food production, e.g. bioenergy based agroforestry
d. respecting local land tenure and culture
e. connected to local demand and markets
f. combining with local land use policy making (landscape approach), that could potentially prevent forest clearance from system expansion, if such system is found socially and financially interesting for the local farmers.
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