Workshop: Land use decision-making for biomass crop deployment

To support the UK transition to net zero, the Climate Change Committee has recommended the expansion of perennial biomass cropping in the UK, with targets for the establishment of up to 1 M ha of biomass crops by 2050. The aim of this workshop is to bring together representatives from industry, policy, land management and the research community to explore three key questions that are needed to turn this target into reality:

• Where should biomass crops be located and what criteria should be used to identify suitable land?
• What tools are available or are needed to support landowners and policymakers to identify suitable land at a range of scales (from whole landscape to individual fields)?
• What are the barriers that could prevent suitable areas being utilised?

The workshop will start with talks introducing the latest developments in modelling land availability for biomass crops and current approaches to definitions of suitable land based on marginality, and experts from across the land use sector will highlight developments in land use decision tools. These talks will be used as the basis for discussion, with a focus on understanding not only what criteria should be used to select land suitable for biomass crop production, but also on how such criteria can be practically applied at different scales. Drawing on expertise from a range of stakeholders, the workshop will identify pathways and tools that will support perennial biomass crop deployment in the UK, highlight knowledge gaps and ensure that approaches are fit for purpose.

Agenda

Timing

10:00 Introduction and welcome

10:10 Talk: Marginal land: Definition used to identify land as marginal and therefore suitable for biomass crops, Dr Naveed Arshad

10:20 Breakout session 1: What makes land suitable for biomass crops in the UK and what criteria can be used to identify this land?

10:50 Talk: Barriers to biomass crop deployment in the UK, Dr Andrew Welfle

11:00 Breakout session 2: What are the barriers that are currently preventing large-scale biomass crop deployment?

11:30 Short break

11:35 Talks: Landscape decision models and tools, Dr Rob Holland, Dr Gemma Delafield (ADVENT), Dr John Redhead (E-Planned)

11:55 Breakout session 3: What are the barriers that land use models can help overcome, and what functionality do we need?

12:15 Polling, wrap-up and next steps

12:30 End

Please note the talks will be recorded but the breakout sessions will not.

Background

There has been considerable debate as to where in the UK landscape biomass crops should be located and how much suitable land is available. The modelling community has taken a lead in addressing this question. Models consider a suite of factors, including soil carbon stocks, crop yields and ecosystem services with – to avoid competition with food production – a focus on identifying marginal lands.

Defining the marginality has however, proven to be complex, with many and sometimes contrasting criteria used. Even where a definition can be agreed upon the criteria and processes used to categorise land parcels as marginal for modelling may be difficult to apply at the farm or field scale. For example, modelled impacts on soil carbon are often based on national soil maps and land use. National soil maps were, however, not intended to provide field scale data, and even high-resolution land use mapping may not fully capture land management practices, which also influence C stocks. This leaves a gap between the capability of current models and field scale decision-making. On top of this, even if we can identify suitable areas for biomass crop deployment, there are the barriers that remain that could prevent these areas being used.