Cited by 709Bioenergy crop production and managementForest Biomass Utilization and ManagementBioeconomy and Sustainability Development

The global potential of bioenergy on abandoned agriculture lands

Campbell, J. Elliott, Lobell, David B., Genova, Robert C., Field, Christopher B.·2008·Environmental Science & Technology

Abstract

Converting forest lands into bioenergy agriculture could accelerate climate change by emitting carbon stored in forests, while converting food agriculture lands into bioenergy agriculture could threaten food security. Both problems are potentially avoided by using abandoned agriculture lands for bioenergy agriculture. Here we show the global potential for bioenergy on abandoned agriculture lands to be less than 8% of current primary energy demand, based on historical land use data, satellite-derived land cover data, and global ecosystem modeling. The estimated global area of abandoned agriculture is 385-472 million hectares, or 66-110% of the areas reported in previous preliminary assessments. The area-weighted mean production of above-ground biomass is 4.3 tons ha(-1) y(-1), in contrast to estimates of up to 10 tons ha(-1) y(-1) in previous assessments. The energy content of potential biomass grown on 100% of abandoned agriculture lands is less than 10% of primary energy demand for most nations in North America, Europe, and Asia, but it represents many times the energy demand in some African nations where grasslands are relatively productive and current energy demand is low.

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Crossref · 10.1021/es800052w

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  • The large spreads of low concentration abandonment in Campbell et al. (2008) highlight an additional concern in applying these datasets to the estimation of biofuel production: additional infrastructure needs for production on small areas spread over much of the Earth's surface would be inhibitive, at best.

    “the large spreads of low concentration abandonment in Campbell et al. (2008) highlights an additional concern in applying these datasets to the estimation of biofuel production: additional infrastructure needs for production on small areas spread over much of the Earth's surface would be inhibitive, at best.”

    From Mapping the world's degraded lands (2015) · cites this paper as Campbell et al. (2008)

  • Any areas mapped as greater than 50 percent abandoned agriculture in Campbell et al. (2008) are smaller (6400 km2) than those areas of disagreement discussed above.

    “any areas mapped as greater than 50 percent abandoned agriculture are smaller ( 6400 km 2 ) than those areas of disagreement discussed above.”

    From Mapping the world's degraded lands (2015) · cites this paper as Campbell et al. (2008)

  • The Campbell et al. (2008) data set does not appear to contribute to high standard deviations among the four sets because it does not contain large areas of concentrated abandonment.

    “The Campbell et al. (2008) data set does not appear to contribute to high standard deviations among the four sets because it does not contain large areas of concentrated abandonment.”

    From Mapping the world's degraded lands (2015) · cites this paper as Campbell et al. (2008)

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Authors
Campbell, J. E., Lobell, D. B., Genova, R. C., & Field, C. B.
Affiliations
Carnegie Institution for Science (US)
Corresponding author
Campbell, J. Elliott
Venue
Environmental Science & Technology
Published
2008-06-25
Volume
42
Issue
15
Pages
5791-5794
ISSN
  • 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
  • 1520-5851
OpenAlex
W1975625726
Cited by
709
References
46
Citations by year
2026: 22 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 39 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 46 · 2020: 41 · 2019: 33 · 2018: 28 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 36 · 2015: 48 · 2014: 45 · 2013: 56 · 2012: 58
FWCI
69.42
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Environmental Science & Technology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Agronomy and Crop Science › Bioenergy crop production and management
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanics of Materials › Forest Biomass Utilization and Management
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › General Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Bioeconomy and Sustainability Development
Keywords
bioenergy, abandoned farmland, land use change, bioenergy potential, forest carbon emissions, food security, primary energy demand, grassland
MeSH terms
Agriculture, Bioelectric Energy Sources, Conservation of Natural Resources, Forecasting, Geography, International Cooperation, Ecosystem

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