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Volume 9
Journal of Bioremediation & Biodegradation
ISSN: 2155-6199
Biofuel Congress 2018 &
Biomass 2018
September 04-06, 2018
JOINT EVENT
September 04-06, 2018 | Zurich, Switzerland
13
th
Global Summit and Expo on
Biomass and Bioenergy
&
12
th
World Congress on
Biofuels and Bioenergy
How to meet the needs of bees? - Diversification of industrial crops cultivation for a more
environmentally benign bioeconomy
Moritz von Cossel
University of Hohenheim, Germany
Statement of the Problem:
Today, agriculture is facing fundamental ecosystemic crisis such as pollinator losses and land
degradation mainly driven by both climate change and declining landscape heterogeneity. Consequently, industrial crops
cultivation (ICC) key element of a growing bioeconomy - should both avoid competition with food crops cultivation (FCC)
and take environmental aspects into account. In Germany however, ICC for biogas production is still characterized by only a
few biogas substrates such as maize or whole crop cereal silage prevalently using non marginal areas strongly competing with
FCC. This study reassesses agricultural diversification of ICC to support agrobiodiversity especially considering low-input
practices on marginal lands.
Methodology &Theoretical Orientation:
Several field trials with amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus L.) and perennial
wild plant mixtures (WPM) were conducted at three sites in southwest Germany from years 2014 to 2017. Lab scale biogas
yield assessments were conducted with milled dry matter samples.
Findings:
The diversification of biogas crop rotation systems with amaranth was found promising for increasing ecosystemic
functioning of ICC for biogas production. Amaranth provides high amounts of nectar, an essential ecosystemic service towards
biodiversity conservation. Additionally, amaranth showed comparable suitability for legume intercropping to maize. However,
both better agronomic knowledge and genotypes are required to improve its performance. WPM cultivation showed highest
potential for biodiversity conservation due to its high species diversity and long-term soil cover. High biomass yields (> 20 t ha
1) were observed under marginal growth conditions. The long term performance of WPM could be improved using maize as
nurse crop in the establishment year. However, low yield stability and variable biogas substrate quality render crucial challenges
for practical implementations of WPM.
Conclusion & Significance:
This study reports promising temporal and spatial agricultural diversification measures for more
environmentally benign industrial crop cultivation and derives basic recommendations for further investigations.
Recent Publications
1. Von Cossel, M., Möhring, J., Kiesel, A. and Lewandowski, I. (2017) Methane yield performance of amaranth (Amaranthus
hypochondriacus L.) and its suitability for legume intercropping in comparison to maize (Zea mays L.). Industrial Crops
& Products 103: 107-121. Doi: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2017.03.047. URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2017.03.047[Accessed June 11, 2018].
2. Von Cossel, M. and Lewandowski, I. (2016) Perennial wild plant mixtures for biomass production: Impact of species
composition dynamics on yield performance over a five-year cultivation period in southwest Germany. European Journal
of Agronomy 79: 74-89. Doi: 10.1016/j.eja.2016.05.006. URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2016.05.006.Moritz von Cossel, J Bioremediat Biodegrad 2018, Volume 9
DOI: 10.4172/2155-6199-C1-014