Marginal soils for bioenergy production : How to identify these soils in Portugal?

• Author(s): Abreu, Mariana ; Reis, Alberto ; Fernando, Ana Luisa
• Date: 2023
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.9/4172
• Origin: Repositório do LNEG
• Subject(s): Bioenergy; Biofuels; Biorefinery; Portugal
• Document Type: Book part
• Language: English
• Contributor(s): Repositório do LNEG

Description

ABSTRACT: n the bioenergy/biorefineries sector, energy crops have achieved a relevant position as a feedstock for bio-based products, biofuels and bioenergy. To produce the energy crops, soils with low Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) risk must be utilized, such as marginal/degraded/contaminated (MDC) soils. Locating these types of soils in any territory, region, or country is challenging. Several criteria, e.g. soil drainage, dryness, temperature, have been identified by the European Union, and allow to classify soils as marginal. Yet, the dispersed information makes the identification and selection of marginal soils a challenging process. Therefore, this study details the tools and baseline documents that can be used to identify marginal areas, presenting low ILUC risk for the cultivation of energy crops. The application of the methodology to Continental Portugal allowed to obtain a preliminary map that indicates available soils for the cultivation of energy crops.