Evaluating the Marginal Land Resources Suitable for Developing Pistacia chinensis -Based Biodiesel in China

Lu Lu, Dong Jiang, Dafang Zhuang and Yaohuan Huang
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Lu Lu: State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Systems, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Dong Jiang: State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Systems, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Dafang Zhuang: State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Systems, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Yaohuan Huang: State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Systems, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China

Energies, 2012, vol. 5, issue 7, 1-13

Abstract: Bio-energy from energy plants is expected to play an increasing role in the future energy system, with benefits in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving energy security. Pistacia chinensis is believed to be one of the most promising non-food input for biodiesel production. This study focused on the marginal land availability for developing Pistacia chinensis- based bioenergy in China. The spatial distribution, quality and total amount of marginal land resources suitable for cultivating Pistacia chinensis were identified with multiple datasets (natural habitat, remote sensing-derived land use, meteorological and soil data) and geoinformatic techniques. The results indicate that the area of marginal land exploitable for Pistacia chinensis plantations in China is 19.90 million hectares, which may produce approximately 56.85 million tons of biodiesel each year. The spatial variation of both marginal land resources and biodiesel potential are also presented. The results can be useful for national and regional bio-energy planning.

Keywords: Pistacia chinensis; marginal land; biodiesel (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: 2012
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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