Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 6.14.
Deforestation of a tropical forest in Riau province (Sumatra), to make way
for an oil palm plantation. When natural ecosystems are turned into energy crop
plantations, habitats are lost, often forever. Since natural habitats, by definition, are home
to most of the world's plant and animal species, their loss means the loss of biodiversity.
Source:
Hayden at Wikimedia Commons.
Bioenergy also has a major impact on GHG emissions. Converting tropical forest or
grassland into plantations for biodiesel production results in a net carbon dioxide output
17-420 times greater than the annual GHG emission reductions that these biofuels would
provide by displacing fossil fuels. The practice of burning forest to remove trees and
increase soil fertility not only reduces the capacity of the land to absorb carbon dioxide but
oxidizes the exposed soil, causing massive erosion. The result is a major net increase in
is therefore more sustainable than biofuels produced through forest cleaning. In fact, as a
result of extensive deforestation, Indonesia ranks as the world's fourth largest net GHG
degraded and abandoned lands can offer immediate and sustained advantages (Fargione et
al.
2008
).
