Germany’s Agricultural Land Footprint and the Impact of Import Pattern Allocation

Klaus Josef Hennenberg, Swantje Gebhardt, Florian Wimmer, Martin Distelkamp, Christian Lutz, Hannes Böttcher and Rüdiger Schaldach
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Klaus Josef Hennenberg: Öko-Institut e.V., Rheinstraße 95, 64295 Darmstadt, Germany
Swantje Gebhardt: Öko-Institut e.V., Rheinstraße 95, 64295 Darmstadt, Germany
Florian Wimmer: Center for Environmental Systems Research, University of Kassel, Wilhelmshöher Allee 47, 34109 Kassel, Germany
Martin Distelkamp: Institute of Economic Structures Research (GWS), Heinrichstr. 30, 49080 Osnabrück, Germany
Christian Lutz: Institute of Economic Structures Research (GWS), Heinrichstr. 30, 49080 Osnabrück, Germany
Hannes Böttcher: Öko-Institut e.V., Rheinstraße 95, 64295 Darmstadt, Germany
Rüdiger Schaldach: Center for Environmental Systems Research, University of Kassel, Wilhelmshöher Allee 47, 34109 Kassel, Germany

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Footprints are powerful indicators for evaluating the impacts of a country’s bioeconomy on environmental goods, both domestic and abroad. We apply a hybrid approach combining a multi-regional input-output model and land use modelling to compute the agricultural land footprint (aLF). Furthermore, we added information on land-use change to the analysis and allocated land conversion to specific commodities. Using Germany as a case study, we show that the aLF abroad is 2.5 to 3 times larger compared to impacts within the country. When allocating land conversion of natural and semi-natural land-cover types in 2005 and 2010 to import increases by Germany, conversion rates were found to be 2.5 times higher than for the global average. Import increases to Germany slowed down in 2015 and 2020, reducing land conversion attributed to the German bioeconomy as well. Our results indicate that looking at a static import pattern is not sufficient to draw a realistic picture of the land footprint of a country. For a more detailed assessment that also considers temporal dynamics and impacts of biomass use and trade, our newly developed set of indicators also captures changes of import patterns over time. The case study shows that our enhanced land footprint provides clear and meaningful information for policymakers and other stakeholders.

Keywords: bioeconomy; footprint analysis; land use modelling; multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model; land conversion; biodiversity; ecosystem functions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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