A GIS Approach Land Suitability and Availability Analysis of Jatropha Curcas L. Growth in Mexico as a Potential Source for Biodiesel Production

Jocelyn Alejandra Cortez-Núñez, María Eugenia Gutiérrez-Castillo, Violeta Y. Mena-Cervantes, Ángel Refugio Terán-Cuevas, Luis Raúl Tovar-Gálvez and Juan Velasco
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Jocelyn Alejandra Cortez-Núñez: Laboratorio Nacional de Desarrollo y Aseguramiento de la Calidad de Biocombustibles, Centro Mexicano para la Producción más Limpia, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Avenida Acueducto s/n, Colonia La Laguna Ticomán, 07340 Ciudad de México, Mexico
María Eugenia Gutiérrez-Castillo: Departamento de Biociencias e Ingeniería, Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, 30 de junio de 1520 s/n, 07340 Ciudad de México, Mexico
Violeta Y. Mena-Cervantes: Laboratorio Nacional de Desarrollo y Aseguramiento de la Calidad de Biocombustibles, Centro Mexicano para la Producción más Limpia, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Avenida Acueducto s/n, Colonia La Laguna Ticomán, 07340 Ciudad de México, Mexico
Ángel Refugio Terán-Cuevas: Departamento de Territorio y Ambiente, Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, 30 de junio de 1520 s/n, 07340 Ciudad de México, Mexico
Luis Raúl Tovar-Gálvez: Departamento de Biociencias e Ingeniería, Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, 30 de junio de 1520 s/n, 07340 Ciudad de México, Mexico
Juan Velasco: Satellite Analysis Branch, NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction, 5830 University Research Ct, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 22, 1-23

Abstract: Jatropha curcas L. (JCL) commercial plantations in Mexico, one of the most important JCL origin centers, have failed due to a variety of biological, political and technical factors affecting their productivity. This study explores feasible sites of JCL cultivation as a potential source for biodiesel production in Mexico, given agroclimatic and agroecological considerations. We propose a GIS-based approach for estimating suitable and available lands to grow JCL by integrating an Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) in the ArcGIS software. Spatial analysis combined multiple data, different evaluation criteria, three land availability classes (high, medium and low potential) and took into account ecological, ethical, and political restrictions, and considering two scenarios with different restriction levels. Suitability and availability maps were generated using agroclimatic information (climatic, land use/soil, and climate change and extreme weather events risk) together with other socioeconomic factors. Approximately 15.3% of Mexican territory is available for JCL production yielding a biodiesel production of 9.683 Mm 3 /year. Amelioration of the available land is necessary to improve land selection. GIS-based analysis represents a first approach to establish a successful biodiesel project that avoids, competition with food or feed production, maintains biodiversity conservation, and promotes biofuel supply chain development. This procedure would also be applicable to other energy crops such as oil palm and Ricinus communis .

Keywords: agroenvironmental mapping; energy crop; Jatropha curcas L.; land suitability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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