RATING-SRC Reducing Environmental Impacts of Short- Rotation
Coppice (SRC) Through Evidence-Based Integrated Decision Support
Tools Dimitriou I. a*, Bolte A. b, Aronsson P. a, Baum C. c, Baum
S. b, Berndes G. d, Busch G. b, Khn J. e, Lamersdorf N. b,
Leinweber P. c, Weih M. a, Wirsenius S. d * Corresponding author,
Rating-SRC is an ERA-NET Bioenergy project dealing with the impact
of Short-Rotation Coppice (SRC) of willow and poplar on the
environment Partners from Sweden and Germany Duration: Oct Sep The
project Project partners Swedish University of Agricultural
Sciences (SLU) (Project coordinator) ( a ) Contact: Dr. Ioannis
Dimitriou Johann Heinrich von Thnen-Institut, Federal Research
Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries (vTI) In co-op.
with: Gttingen Soil Initiative (GBI e.V.); University of Gttingen,
Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, Dep. of Soil Science
of Temperate and Boreal Ecosystems (PGZ); Bureau for Applied
Landscape Ecology and Scenario Analysis, Gttingen (BALSA) ( b )
Contact: Prof. Dr. Andreas Bolte University of Rostock ( c )
Contact: Prof. Dr. Peter Leinweber Chalmers University of
Technology ( d ) Contact: Dr. Gran Berndes Beckmann Institute for
Bio-production technology lines e.V. (BIOP Institut) ( e ) Contact:
Dr. Jrg Khn The German Ministry of Agriculture (BMELV) through its
Agency for Renewable Resources (Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe
e.V. FNR) is funding Rating-SRC partners from Germany, and the
Swedish Energy Agency (Energimyndigheten) is financing the Swedish
partners of the project. The idea behind As a perennial wood crop
SRC differs from most arable crops in physical traits and
management practices Positive environmental benefits due to SRC
have been reported but the effects on the environment depend on
existing or previous land-use, scale of planting and management
practices applied Nevertheless, SRC is in some cases faced with
reservation concerning its environmental impact since it is a new
crop and gaps in knowledge exist SRC of willow and poplar is an
agricultural crop for production of biomass for heat and/or
electricity A rapid increase of agricultural land cultivated with
SRC has been projected This shift from conventional arable crops to
SRC will have implications on a range of environmental issues The
objectives a full-scale evaluation of SRC impact in the micro- and
macro-scale on soil, water, biodiversity and landscape to propose
ways to mitigate negative and increase positive impacts to
accommodate decision-makers of different levels with support tools
to assess the sustainability of SRC as agricultural crop For more
information visit the Rating-SRC website:Rating-SRC will: consider
factors strengthening SRC as a sustainable energy generation
system, as the recycling of byproducts in SRC fields develop
recommendations to increase the positive and mitigate the negative
impacts of SRC on the environment develop SRC suitability maps for
certain areas based on the project findings SRC as agricultural
crop
