Identifying marginal lands for bioenergy crops through remote sensing to manage ecosystem services trade-offs

Over the last years, there has been a growing interest in bioenergy production. Their exploitation concurs in reaching EU targets of 20% of total energy production from renewable sources. On the other hand, bioenergy production is known to induce changes in landscape patterns and trade-offs with other ecosystem services (ESs) (Power, 2010). The opportunities in developing Renewable Energy Sources (RES) from biomass-based energy sources (BBES) are limited by uncertainties connected to biomass feedstock availability. Trade-offs between the exploitation of BBES and other ESs are not currently taken into account in either feedstock analysis or certification schemes (Gissi et al., 2016). Sustainability requirements and social acceptance for the use of BBES are needed. In this framework, the use of marginal lands for the exploitation of BBES can be an effective tool to reduce the impacts on landscape and ESs (Blanco-Canqui, 2016).
The scope of this study is to propose a methodology for the identification of marginal croplands as sustainable areas to be destined to biomass production for energy purposes. We intend as marginal croplands both croplands that are not currently involved in food production and croplands that are actually involved in food production but are affected by stress appearance or significant soil problems.
The method is applied for the Province of Rovigo, located in the Veneto region (Northern Italy). Using a GIS-based environmental modelling, data are collected and processed to identify marginal lands and to analyse trade-offs at landscape level by innovative methods, including Land Use Land Cover (LULC) maps, remotely sensed and soil data. Once marginal croplands are identified, trade-offs between BBES and other ESs are mapped. Furthermore, the potential contribution of BBES (mainly woody sources) to landscape aesthetic is investigated and discussed, focusing on vegetation patterns and remotely sensed vegetation indices data.
The study aims at investigating the optimization of BBES supply chain planning in a social and environmental sustainability perspective, through the innovative application of remote sensing techniques to assess and map ESs and their trade-offs at landscape level in the analysis of feedstock potential. Results are discussed in relation to landscape aesthetic in synergy with the potential increment of landscape diversity through woody biomass sources and their potential integration in landscape patterns.