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Impact of Energy Crop Rotation Design on Multiple Aspects of Resource Efficiency
Author(s) -
Peter Christiane,
Glemnitz Michael,
Winter Katharina,
Kornatz Peter,
Müller Janine,
Heiermann Monika,
Aurbacher Joachim
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
chemical engineering and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1521-4125
pISSN - 0930-7516
DOI - 10.1002/ceat.201600226
Subject(s) - crop rotation , agricultural engineering , biogas production , resource efficiency , resource (disambiguation) , environmental science , energy crop , raw material , efficient energy use , crop , diversification (marketing strategy) , environmental economics , computer science , biofuel , bioenergy , engineering , agronomy , business , economics , methane , ecology , waste management , computer network , electrical engineering , marketing , biology , anaerobic digestion
Biogas production can cause environmental problems due to a biased alignment of one energy crop used as a feedstock, e.g., maize in Germany. Diversification of crop rotations and resource‐efficient management can be the key to sustainable crop management. Four crop rotations on eight sites across Germany were evaluated in terms of their resource efficiency (area use, energy, and economic efficiency) to derive options. Analysis revealed high variation in all indicators under review, with a high variance explanation by the interaction between crop rotation and regional characteristics. Furthermore, results indicate that high area‐specific methane yields do not equate to high energy efficiency. Crop management adaptation is a useful tool for optimizing resource efficiency.