Farm-Scale Biofuel Crop Adoption and Its Effects on In-Basin Water Balance

Nina Noreika, Tailin Li, David Zumr, Josef Krasa, Tomas Dostal and Raghavan Srinivasan
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Nina Noreika: Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, 16000 Prague, Czech Republic
Tailin Li: Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, 16000 Prague, Czech Republic
David Zumr: Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, 16000 Prague, Czech Republic
Josef Krasa: Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, 16000 Prague, Czech Republic
Tomas Dostal: Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, 16000 Prague, Czech Republic
Raghavan Srinivasan: Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 24, 1-15

Abstract: In the face of future climate change, Europe has encouraged the adoption of biofuel crops by its farmers. Such land-use changes can have significant impacts on the water balance and hydrological behavior of a system. While the heavy pesticide use associated with biofuel crops has been extensively studied, the water balance impacts of these crops have been far less studied. We conducted scenario analyses using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to determine the effects of farm-scale biofuel crop adoption (rapeseed) on a basin’s water balance. We found that rapeseed adoption does not support the goal of developing a sustainable agricultural landscape in the Czech Republic. The adoption of rapeseed also had disproportionate effects on a basin’s water balance depending on its location in the basin. Additionally, discharge (especially surface runoff ratios), evapotranspiration, and available soil water content display significant shifts in the rapeseed adoption scenarios.

Keywords: sustainable agriculture; water balance; biofuel crop; SWAT model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:24:p:10596-:d:464326

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