Riparian forest buffers : building a sustainable bioenergy future
Abstract
As society transitions to bioenergy production on agricultural lands, this future must be formulated in a way that the other services from agricultural lands are not compromised. Agroforestry, and in particular riparian forest buffers (RFBs), can contribute to a sustainable, multi-functional bioenergy future. RFBs can mitigate adverse impacts from bioenergy production systems such as polluted runoff from grain-based ethanol operations as well as potentially augment feedstocks for bioenergy production. Properly designed, located and managed, RFBs can do this while providing other services the landowner and society demand from these lands, including air and water quality, wildlife habitat, carbon sequestration and alternative income opportunities. Current research is contributing to our technological understanding of whether and how bioenergy objectives can be met within RFB practice design and management. Our greatest challenge, however, is building the socio-economic and political frameworks that will ultimately determine its acceptance and adoption by landowners and resource professionals. Education will be imperative, not only of potential landowners but also those involved in policy and program formulation and delivery, to develop mutually beneficial connections between bioenergy production and other ecosystem services. Shifts in farm policy, programs and markets will be necessary to make adoption of RFBs more attractive to landowners. Programs like the newly created Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) will be invaluable to help landowners transition to a diversified bioenergy system. Tools for designing and locating RFBs to optimize multiple services, including bioenergy, are needed to facilitate discussion and formulation of shared agendas among landowners, resource professionals and the energy industry. Strategies for current and future use of RFBs within bioenergy production systems requires going beyond our current business-as-usual approach. We must shift from a single issue focus to creating RFB designs, programs, and policies that satisfy multiple objectives.