Production pathways for profitability and valuing ecosystem services for willow coppice in intensive agricultural applications

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorLivingstone, David
dc.contributor.authorSmyth, Beatrice M.
dc.contributor.authorSherry, Erin
dc.contributor.authorMurray, Simon T.,
dc.contributor.authorFoley, Aoife M.
dc.contributor.authorLyons, Gary A.
dc.contributor.authorJohnston, Christopher
dc.date.accessioned2023-02-07T09:53:05Z
dc.date.available2023-02-07T09:53:05Z
dc.date.issued2023-01-20
dc.descriptionPublication history: Accepted - 14 January 2023; Published online - 20 January 2023
dc.description.abstractIncreasing agricultural sustainability is a key challenge facing the globe today. Energy crops, planted as riparian buffers are one way to support this, simultaneously mitigating water quality degradation and climate change. However, the economics of implementing such riparian buffer systems is under researched. Hence this work conducted a bottom-up economic analysis of willow coppice riparian buffers on a Northern Irish dairy farm, which is indicative of agricultural intensification across Europe. This work includes an economic assessment of a willow coppice riparian buffer strip, using harvested yield data from an established willow buffer site for the first time. It also considered the impact of harvesting technology on the economic performance of a willow coppice riparian buffer strip for the first time. The analysis considered three willow production pathways: 1) direct chip harvesting, 2) full-stem harvesting, and 3) a scenario with a guaranteed purchasing contract for fresh chip. Economic performance was considered using net present value over a 25-year plantation lifetime. The full-stem scenario provided the highest economic return over its lifetime with an average yearly net present value of £497 ha−1 (in £ sterling). This system was then considered for integration into a typical dairy farm, assuming 5 % land usage and including government grants for establishing riparian zones. The result was a drop in value of £28 ha−1 yr−1 compared to a dairy-only scenario; however, per litre of milk the farm employing willow coppice riparian buffer strips outperformed a typical dairy farm both environmentally and economically. Further analysis considered a novel approach that included payments for ecosystem services in the economic analysis. This analysis found that the implementation of government payments for ecosystem services (nutrient removal) increased the economic return of the willow coppice riparian buffer system by £400 ha−1 yr−1, resulting in minimal impact on the return from dairy land.
dc.description.sponsorshipThis Bryden Centre project is supported by the European Union's INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). The views and opinions expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission or the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). The work was also supported by Queen's University Belfast and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute in Northern Ireland. The authors would like to thank David Gilliland of Organic Resources and Alan Hegan of Hegan Biomass for the expert insight readily provided for this research.
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12518/518
dc.identifier.citationLivingstone, D., Smyth, B.M., Sherry, E., Murray, S.T., Foley, A.M., Lyons, G.A. and Johnston, C.R. (2023) ‘Production pathways for profitability and valuing ecosystem services for willow coppice in intensive agricultural applications’, Sustainable Production and Consumption. Elsevier BV. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2023.01.013.
dc.identifier.issn2352-5509
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2023.01.013
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherElsevier
dc.rights© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Institution of Chemical Engineers. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by/4.0/)
dc.subjectSRC willow
dc.subjectBioenergy
dc.subjectDairy
dc.subjectSustainable agriculture
dc.subjectEconomics
dc.subjectEcosystem services
dc.titleProduction pathways for profitability and valuing ecosystem services for willow coppice in intensive agricultural applications
dc.typeArticle
dcterms.dateAccepted2023-01-14
dcterms.dateSubmitted2022-07-28

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Production pathways for profitability and valuing ecosystem services for willow coppice in intensive agricultural applications.pdf
Size:
992.14 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Final published version
Download

Collections

Journal Articles