Analysing the effect of biofuel expansion on land use in major producing countries

Summary:	This study based on land use data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations casts some doubt on the commonly accepted views about the indirect land use change impacts of biofuels. The study analyses data on land use change over the last decade in the countries representing 97% of global ethanol production.The data suggests that current models assessing the impact on land use of crops grown for biofuel production do not accurately take account of the real-world evidence of changes in agricultural production and land use, most notably increases in yields and cropping intensity. The study looks at: Changes in arable area cropped for biofuel feedstock production vs food production. The extent to which the acreage devoted to biofuel feedstock production has been offset by productivity gains on the acreage devoted to food production.
Authors	J.W.A. Langeveld, J. Dixon, H. van Keulen, P.M.F. Quist-Wessel
Institution	Biomass Research, Wageningen
Date	2013
Categories	Biofuels
Countries	Global Focus