The Ecological Impact of Biofuels

@article{Fargione2010TheEI,
  title={The Ecological Impact of Biofuels},
  author={Joseph E. Fargione and Richard J. Plevin and Jason D. Hill},
  journal={Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics},
  year={2010},
  volume={41},
  pages={351-377}
}
The ecological impact of biofuels is mediated through their effects on land, air, and water. In 2008, about 33.3 million ha were used to produce food-based biofuels and their coproducts. Biofuel production from food crops is expected to increase 170% by 2020. Economic model estimates for land-use change (LUC) associated with food-based biofuels are 67–365 ha 10−6 l−1, leading to increased greenhouse gas emissions for decades compared to business as usual. Biodiversity is reduced by about 60% in… 
View via Publisher
rael.berkeley.edu
246 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
23
Background Citations
105
Methods Citations
9
Results Citations
1

246 Citations

Biofuels and biodiversity: Challenges and opportunities

The impacts of biofuel crops on local biodiversity: a global synthesis

This work synthesised data from 116 sources where a potential biofuel crop was grown and estimated how two measures of local biodiversity, species richness and total abundance, responded to different crops, suggesting that land clearance to generate biofuel results in negative impacts on local biodiversity.

Carbon consequences and agricultural implications of growing biofuel crops on marginal agricultural lands in China.

The effects of growing switchgrass and Miscanthus on Chinese marginal agricultural lands on biomass production and carbon emissions are quantified with a global-scale biogeochemical model to meet the biofuel needs in populous China without causing further food shortages or environmental problems.

Biomass and biofuels in China: Toward bioenergy resource potentials and their impacts on the environment

Impacts of land use change due to biofuel crops on carbon balance, bioenergy production, and agricultural yield, in the conterminous United States

Growing concerns about energy and the environment have led to worldwide use of bioenergy. Switching from food crops to biofuel crops is an option to meet the fast‐growing need for biofuel feedstocks.…

Biogeochemical consequences of regional land use change to a biofuel crop in the southeastern United States

The United States has mandated the production of 80 billion liters of second-generation biofuel by 2022, and several approaches to meet this target focus on using ligno-cellulosic ethanol from…

Biofuel Expansion, Fertilizer Use, and GHG Emissions: Unintended Consequences of Mitigation Policies

Increased biofuel production has been associated with direct and indirect land-use change, changes in land management practices, and increased application of fertilizers and pesticides. This has…

Estimating Water Use Efficiency in Bioenergy Ecosystems Using a Process‐Based Model

Bioenergy, made available from materials derived from biological sources, has been widely considered as one of the major renewable and sustainable energy sources to enhance energy security and…

Indirect Effects Negate Global Climate Change Mitigation Potential of Substituting Gasoline With Corn Ethanol as a Transportation Fuel in the USA

Concerns over climate change have led to the promotion of biofuels for transport, particularly biodiesel from oilseed crops and ethanol from sugar and starch crops. However, additional concerns arose…

Bioenergy crop productivity and potential climate change mitigation from marginal lands in the United States: An ecosystem modeling perspective

Growing biomass feedstocks from marginal lands is becoming an increasingly attractive choice for producing biofuel as an alternative energy to fossil fuels. Here, we used a biogeochemical model at…
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 127 REFERENCES

Indirect Emissions from Biofuels: How Important?

Direct and indirect effects of possible land-use changes from an expanded global cellulosic bioenergy program on greenhouse gas emissions over the 21st century are examined using linked economic and terrestrial biogeochemistry models.

Biodiversity conservation in the era of biofuels: risks and opportunities

Growing demand for alternative energy sources has contributed to increased biofuel production, but the effects on biodiversity of land-use change to biofuel crops remain unclear. Using a…

Bioenergy and Wildlife: Threats and Opportunities for Grassland Conservation

Demand for land to grow corn for ethanol increased in the United States by 4.9 million hectares between 2005 and 2008, with wide-ranging effects on wildlife, including habitat loss. Depending on how…

Use of U.S. Croplands for Biofuels Increases Greenhouse Gases Through Emissions from Land-Use Change

It is found that corn-based ethanol nearly doubles greenhouse emissions over 30 years and increases greenhouse gases for 167 years, which raises concerns about large biofuel mandates and highlights the value of using waste products.

Meeting US biofuel goals with less land: the potential of Miscanthus

Biofuels from crops are emerging as a Jekyll & Hyde – promoted by some as a means to offset fossil fuel emissions, denigrated by others as lacking sustainability and taking land from food crops. It…

Indirect land-use changes can overcome carbon savings from biofuels in Brazil

It is suggested that a closer collaboration or strengthened institutional link between the biofuel and cattle-ranching sectors in the coming years is crucial for effective carbon savings from biofuels in Brazil.

Effects of US Maize Ethanol on Global Land Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Estimating Market-Mediated Responses

Factoring market-mediated responses and by-product use into this analysis reduces cropland conversion by 72% from the land used for the ethanol feedstock, thereby limiting its potential contribution in the context of California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard.

Assessing Biofuel Crop Invasiveness: A Case Study

Proactive measures, such as risk assessments, should be employed to predict invasion risks, which could be mitigated via implementation of appropriate planting policies and adoption of the “polluter-pays” principle.

Environmental, economic, and energetic costs and benefits of biodiesel and ethanol biofuels.

Transportation biofuels such as synfuel hydrocarbons or cellulosic ethanol, if produced from low-input biomass grown on agriculturally marginal land or from waste biomass, could provide much greater supplies and environmental benefits than food-basedBiofuels.

Accounting for the water impacts of ethanol production

Biofuels account for 1–2% of global transportation fuel and their share is projected to continue rising, with potentially serious consequences for water resources. However, current literature does…
...