Biofuel Cropping Systems: Carbon, Land and Food

by Hans Langeveld (Editor), John Dixon (Editor), Herman van Keulen (Editor)

Overview

Choosing appropriate practices and policies for biofuel production requires an understanding of how soils, climate, farm types, infrastructure, markets and social organisation affect the establishment and performance of these crops. The book highlights land use dynamics, cultivation practices related to conversion and wider impacts. It explores how biofuel production chain development is steered by emerging technologies and management practices and how both can be influenced by effective policies designed to encourage sustainable biofuel production.

The book highlights major biofuel production chains including:

• cane cultivation in Brazil
• corn ethanol in the USA
• wheat and rapeseed in Europe
• oil palm in the Far East
• cane in Asia and Africa
• SRC and other lignocellulosic crops.

In each case the development, cropping systems and impacts are discussed, system dynamics are shown and lessons drawn for the way things could or should change.

Biofuel Cropping Systems is a vital resource for all those who want to understand the way biofuels are produced and how they impact other elements of society and especially how improvements can be made. It is a handbook for students, biofuel producers, researchers and policymakers in energy and agriculture.

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781134624843
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/21/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	296
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Hans Langeveld holds an MSc in tropical agronomy. After a career of 20 years of research in public institutions, he founded a private company for research on sustainable biomass (Biomass Research) in 2008. His major focus is on sustainable biomass production and its utilisation in biofuels and materials.

John Dixon is Principal Adviser, Research Programmes at the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) in Canberra, Australia.

Herman van Keulen was trained as a soil scientist and production ecologist at Wageningen University. During his career, he wrote many crop growth models. Herman developed innovative concepts in soil water modelling and sustainability research and has been an expert on crop growth, animal production systems and sustainable land use for over four decades. During his career, Herman was recognized internationally as a giant in his field. His knowledge of crop production around the world was encyclopaedic and his readiness to share his wisdom was a constant support for many around him.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Biofuels, Land and Carbon: An Introduction  1. General Introduction: Biofuels and their Role in Cropping Systems  2. Land Cover and Land Use  3.Input Use and Crop Production  4. Assesing Greenhouse Gas Emissions  5. Land Rights, Legal Issues and Social Impacts of Biomass Production  Part 2: Biofuels in Practice: Crop Production Systems Around the Globe  6. Biofuel Production in Brazil  7. Biofuel Production in the USA  8. Biofuel Production in the EU  9.Sugarbeet Ethanol in the EU  10. Oilpalm diesel in the Far East  11. Biofuel Production in Southern Africa  12. Biofuel Production in China  13.Lignocellulosic Crops  14. Biomass production from Waste Agricultural Biomass  15.Impact on Land and Biomass Availability  16: Outlook

Editorial Reviews

'The book Biofuel Cropping Systems is a much welcome contribution to the growing list of publications about biofuels. What places this book apart from many other publications is the special attention to feedstock production systems, where solid on-the-ground knowledge is combined with a forward-looking view on how challenges can be met and good performing biofuel cropping systems be developed for the future. I warmly recommend this book as a vital source of information for students as well as for researchers, biofuel producers and policy makers.' - Göran Berndes, PhD, Associate Professor, Physical Resource Theory, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden

From the Publisher