Researchers model how climate warming will impact key bioenergy crops
In Washington, researchers modeled how climate warming will affect the production of key bioenergy crops. The authors find that up to 40% of existing oil palm production, up to 13% of existing sugarcane production, and up to 10% of existing soybean production will occur in locations within the tropics that will not be suitable for these crops by 2060 under lower warming scenarios.
These results, published in PNAS Nexus, raise the possibility that farmers may expand production to new, cooler areas to maintain production, potentially leading to deforestation. Deforestation would release carbon dioxide as trees are burned or felled. Reductions in ecosystem carbon from deforestation could outweigh the climate benefits of biofuel-based mitigation and threaten species in the tropics, the most biodiverse part of the world. According to the authors, bioenergy strategies must be assessed in the context of climate warming.
Category: Research
