The effects of integrated food and bioenergy cropping systems on crop yields, soil health, and biomass quality: The EU and Brazilian experience

Autor: Walter Zegada‐Lizarazu, João L. N. Carvalho, Andrea Parenti, Sarah Tenelli, Carlos Martín Sastre, Pilar Ciria, Myrsini Christou, Alexopoulou Efthymia, Antonio Bonomi, Andrea Monti
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: GCB Bioenergy, Vol 14, Iss 5, Pp 522-538 (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1757-1707
1757-1693
DOI: 10.1111/gcbb.12924
Popis: Abstract Integrated food and bioenergy production is a promising way to ensure regional/national food and energy security, efficient use of soil resources, and enhanced biodiversity, while contributing to the abatement of CO2 emissions. The objective of this study was to assess alternative crop rotation schemes as the basis for integrating and enhancing the sustainable biomass production within the food‐energy agricultural context. Sunn hemp (Crotalaria spp.) in rotation with wheat (Triticum spp.) in the EU and with sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) in Brazil were evaluated. Sunn hemp did not negatively affect crop's productivity and soil fertility; wheat grain yields were maintained around the mean regional production levels (6, 7, 3 and Mg ha−1 in Greece, Italy, and Spain, respectively), and the cumulative biomass in the extended rotation (wheat straw+sunn hemp) was between 1.5 and 2.0 times higher than in the conventional rotation. In Brazil, sugarcane stalks yield in clay soils increased by around 15 Mg ha−1 year−1 under sunn hemp rotation in comparison with bare fallow. Moreover, sunn hemp in the EU rotations did not have negative effects on soil available macronutrients, organic matter, pH, and cation exchange capacity, neither on C and N stocks in Brazil. The qualitative characteristics (mineral, ash, and hemicelluloses contents) of the cumulated biomass were somehow higher (in average +26%, +35%, and +3.4%, respectively) than in the conventional system. In summary, in temperate and tropical climates the integration of dedicated biomass legume crops within conventional systems could lead to enhanced biomass availability, crop diversification, and efficient use (in space and time) of the land resources.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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