Securing a supply of biomass feedstock that is regular in quantity and quality is a key factor of success for biomass-based industrial projects, and a challenge given the strong variations of plant growth over time and space. In addition, biomass production may have negative or positive impacts on the areas where the feedstock is grown, depending on crop management and local conditions, and their overall balance is a stringent determinant of feedstock availability. The recent controversy on the environmental, economic and social benefits and drawbacks of liquid biofuels thus higlighted the challenges of designing bioenergy pathways compatible with the objectives of sustainable development. However, guidelines for the implementation of a sustainable and reliable supply of biomass are yet to be defined. In this lecture, I will address the above issues in the light of recent projects on biomass resource availability and sustainability assessement, particularly in the context of certification schemes. Beyond the life-cycle approaches, which has been extensively used to assess the net energy balance and greenhouse gas intensity of biomass pathways, I will stress the importance and challenges of including biodiversity and lanscape impacts, and the social acceptance of new lignocellulosic species. Avenues for improving sustainability assessement include integrated biophysical and socio-economic modelling at local and global scales, and promoting a co-construction of biomass projects between the players of the value-chains and the stakeholders of the feedstock supply areas. Crucial knowledge gaps on the environmental impacts of lignocellulosic species also remain to be tackled, along with the identification of cropping systems and management practices best suited to a particular supply area.
This is the abstract of a lecture I gave in April 2010 at the LignoBioTech conference. Click here for the slides (PDF) .