Biomass in different biotopes – an extensive resource - Biomass as Energy Source: Resources, Systems and Applications - page 86

Figure 5.1. Development of primary energy sources in Sweden from 1960 to 2008.
when the ice in the ground is melting. This is causing anaerobic conditions, which also cause the
production of the N 2 O. Still, the production is proportional to the amount of nitrous compounds
in the soil. If we add fertilizers in the spring, these will thus cause formation of GHG, while if we
administer the same amount of N-containing fertilizers in the green crops, we will see very little
effect. At the same time administration of nutrients to green crops, approximately 10 cm high,
will avoid leakage to the surrounding waters as well as reducing evaporation to the air.
It can be interesting to have a perspective on the energy development. The Swedish example is
seen in Figure 5.1. Here the proportion of different types of primary energy is shown, where 40%
losses in nuclear power plants is included with some 90-100TWh. This is giving a total input
of primary energy in the range 500TWh/y compared to the total use around 400TWh/y. If we
would have no nuclear power we thus would increase the share of biomass, hydropower and wind
power to be (132 + 65 + 6)/400 = approximately 50%. This calculation is to show that statistical
figures are always relative, and depends on what constraints are set.
5.1.1 Different biotopes
In Figure 5.2, we see a very typical view of a northern European landscape. There are small hills,
small forests mixed with grass and farmland houses distributed in the countryside. Many areas at
the coast or along rivers, have very good soil and humidity conditions, which make them fruitful.
By administering fertilizers and using good seeds, large harvests can usually be achieved. A cold
climate limits diseases, and where still these give problems the farmers use pesticides to keep
parasites under reasonable control.
There are also many forests of Boreal type with a lot of pine and spruce in the north and more
and more hard wood, broadleaf species towards the southern part of northern Europe, as seen
in Figure 5.3. Here we also see very many lakes, actually thousands of lakes. This guarantees
sufficient humidity for the crops, and thereby a reasonable annual production, although sometimes
harsh winters gives a short growth season.
Along the coasts in Europe, we see a lot of grass-land as in Figure 5.4, where most trees were
cut down to be used for building ships or houses, and the trees still have not been replaced by
new ones. This is also typical in Scotland for example.
Another typical landscape view is seen in Figure 5.5. This is grassland where cattle or sheep
normally can live and in the background Phragmites australis (Vass) is growing along the shores.
We also see trees and bushes aside of the grassland and a wall of stone to keep the animals within
the fences.
In Sweden, France, Finland, UK, Germany and many eastern European countries nuclear
fission power replaced much of the oil imports during the 1970s and 1980s. In this way, the use of