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Identification of Arable Marginal Lands under Rainfed Conditions for Bioenergy Purposes in Spain

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  • Carlos S. Ciria

    (CEDER-CIEMAT—Centro de Desarrollo de Energías Renovables, Autovía de Navarra A-15, Salida 56, 42290 Soria, Spain
    Departamento de Producción Agraria, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), 28040 Madrid, Spain)

  • Marina Sanz

    (CEDER-CIEMAT—Centro de Desarrollo de Energías Renovables, Autovía de Navarra A-15, Salida 56, 42290 Soria, Spain)

  • Juan Carrasco

    (CEDER-CIEMAT—Centro de Desarrollo de Energías Renovables, Autovía de Navarra A-15, Salida 56, 42290 Soria, Spain)

  • Pilar Ciria

    (CEDER-CIEMAT—Centro de Desarrollo de Energías Renovables, Autovía de Navarra A-15, Salida 56, 42290 Soria, Spain)

Abstract

The cultivation of bioenergy crops could be considered as sustainable; however, its use in fertile lands could conflict with food production. The general purpose of this study is to identify areas where traditional food crops are not economically sustainable, but where they could be substituted by energy crops without changing the land use in Spain. We studied the profit margin of the main crops of the country, which are wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) and barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.), the spatial location of the growing areas, and the biophysical constraints. Spain has an extended area of 9.93 million hectares, with biophysical and/or economic constraints in rainfed arable areas. Grain yields ≤1.5 Mg ha −1 are not profitable; low organic matter content is the principal biophysical constraint. The average results showed a potential of 83.33 GJ ha −1 using triticale ( x Triticosecale ) and 174.85 GJ ha −1 using cardoon ( Cynara cardunculus L.) in arable marginal lands. The production of biomass in this area would serve to cover between 3%–5% of primary energy needs in Spain for triticale or cardoon. In this respect, establishing energy crops in marginal lands could be an instrument to enhance rural development, boost the bio-economy, and reach environmental targets.

Suggested Citation

  • Carlos S. Ciria & Marina Sanz & Juan Carrasco & Pilar Ciria, 2019. "Identification of Arable Marginal Lands under Rainfed Conditions for Bioenergy Purposes in Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-17, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:7:p:1833-:d:217434
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    3. Franz Grossauer & Gernot Stoeglehner, 2023. "Bioeconomy—A Systematic Literature Review on Spatial Aspects and a Call for a New Research Agenda," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-22, January.
    4. Aditi Sengupta & Priyanka Kushwaha & Antonia Jim & Peter A. Troch & Raina Maier, 2020. "New Soil, Old Plants, and Ubiquitous Microbes: Evaluating the Potential of Incipient Basaltic Soil to Support Native Plant Growth and Influence Belowground Soil Microbial Community Composition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-18, May.
    5. Luigi Pari & Vincenzo Alfano & Walter Stefanoni & Francesco Latterini & Federico Liuzzi & Isabella De Bari & Vito Valerio & Anna Ciancolini, 2021. "Inulin Content in Chipped and Whole Roots of Cardoon after Six Months Storage under Natural Conditions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-11, April.
    6. Moritz Von Cossel & Iris Lewandowski & Berien Elbersen & Igor Staritsky & Michiel Van Eupen & Yasir Iqbal & Stefan Mantel & Danilo Scordia & Giorgio Testa & Salvatore Luciano Cosentino & Oksana Maliar, 2019. "Marginal Agricultural Land Low-Input Systems for Biomass Production," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-25, August.

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