Bioenergy and Biodiversity

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

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