Increasing Biomass Production to Sustain the Bioeconomy

Abstract

The bioeconomy builds on biomass as a resource base. Increased demand for biomass in a growing bioeconomy will lead to increased competition for this resource. However, current bioeconomy strategies are not sufficient to ensure the additional biomass demand is met sustainably. This contribution describes the criteria for a sustainable production and supply of biomass and suggests approaches for increasing the availability of sustainably produced biomass. In this context, the concept of sustainable agricultural intensification is elaborated by showing how breeding and more efficient cropping and land use systems can contribute to increasing biomass production. The participation and empowerment of farmers is addressed as a prerequisite for the implementation of sustainable biomass production. It is concluded that sustainable intensification on available agricultural land has large potential for increasing biomass supply and appears a more promising strategy than mobilizing additional land resources, mainly marginal land. In this strategy, the integration of land use functions, biomass production systems and biomass uses offer an encouraging method for avoiding competition for biomass and land for its production. A biomass supply strategy is envisioned, which makes use of all forms of biomass in an integrated approach and takes account of the interactions between them through the conceptualization of bioeconomic networks. The implementation of efficient strategies for the securing of sustainable biomass production and supply will require both continued research and political support.