Special Issue "Bioenergy and Biodiversity"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Isabel Malico
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physics, University of Évora, 7002-544 Evora, Portugal
Interests: bioenergy; energy policy; energy conversion technologies; computational fluid dynamics
Prof. Ana Cristina Gonçalves
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Engenharia Rural, Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, Instituto Mediterrânico de Agricultura, Ambiente e Desenvolvimento (MED), Instituto de Investigação e Formação Avançada, Universidade de Évora, Apartado 94, 7002-544 Évora, Portugal
Interests: silviculture; modeling; forest management; biomass; forest planning integrated in a GIS environment
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biomass represents the largest contribution to the world’s renewable energy supply, and the demand for this renewable source is expected to increase in the future because of greenhouse gas emission reduction targets imposed by several countries and its increased use as industrial feedstock. This fact raises concerns not only about future biomass availability, but also regarding whether biomass production for energy may negatively impact ecosystems. Issues such as loss of biodiversity and reduction in soil productivity and in water availability have been analyzed by the scientific community. Researchers have also focused their efforts on the positive impacts of the increased use of bioenergy on ecosystems, although these types of studies are less common. Biomass production for energy may have a positive effect, for example, in the prevention of wildfires and in the reduction of controlled fires for the disposal of biological waste.

The effect of biomass production and bioenergy generation on the environment is a very complex subject, highly site-specific and dependent on, for example, the species, production regime, productivity, supply chain, and energy conversion technologies used. Often, multidisciplinary approaches are required to analyze the existent complex interrelations and integrate different perspectives. The link between bioenergy and biodiversity is being investigated more and more. In the last two decades, the number of research papers that focus on bioenergy and biodiversity has been steadily increasing, but further research is needed to determine the proper balances between bioenergy production and biodiversity conservation in different contexts. In this Special Issue, we would like to publish state-of-the-art studies on the link between bioenergy and biodiversity. We aim at publishing works that have an integrated and multidisciplinary approach to the topic.

Dr. Isabel Malico
Dr. Ana Cristina Gonçalves
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biomass
  • forestry
  • agriculture
  • diversity indices
  • fires
  • geographical information systems
  • remote sensing
  • bioenergy potential
  • conversion technologies

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Article
Eucalyptus globulus Coppices in Portugal: Influence of Site and Percentage of Residues Collected for Energy
Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 5775; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13115775 - 21 May 2021
Viewed by 352
Abstract
Studies that quantify forest bioenergy potentials hardly address the questions of site quality, proportion and type of residues removed from the stands, and environmental impacts of those removals. However, those factors are important for energy-potential results and forest sustainability. This study compares, in [...] Read more.
Studies that quantify forest bioenergy potentials hardly address the questions of site quality, proportion and type of residues removed from the stands, and environmental impacts of those removals. However, those factors are important for energy-potential results and forest sustainability. This study compares, in terms of residual biomass availability for energy production and of sustainability, different locations, site indices, and forest management strategies in Eucalyptus globulus stands for pulp and paper in northern and central Portugal. A growth and production simulator was used to calculate the availability of residues and the area needed to supply a biomass-fired power plant under a variety of scenarios. Regions with more rainfall generate more residues, but site index and quantity and type of residues harvested are the most important factors. Under the different scenarios analyzed, the amount of residues potentially harvested range from 0.7 to 4.3 Mg ha−1 a−1, the upper bound corresponding to a scenario where stumps are valorized. The maximization of residue removal maximizes the bioenergy produced but has to be considered prudently. Studies indicate that stump removal has limited effect on Eucalyptus globulus stand productivity, diversity, and system sustainability, but impacts of residue removals increase with a decrease in site index. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioenergy and Biodiversity)
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