Download here the summary poster and the PhD thesis related to this project.
Different types of vegetation in riverine landscapes, ranging from grass on dikes to shrubs and trees in floodplains.
Project output
A quantitative and qualitative analysis of residual biomass use from vegetation management in riverine areas.
Challenge
The land surrounding rivers is characterized by arable soils and high vegetation growth. Where floodplains are not occupied by agricultural production, vegetation must often be removed to ensure sufficient discharge capacities during high water levels. Water management organizations are interested in using biomass from riverine vegetation as ecosystem service. Riverine residual biomass can serve as resource for the bioeconomy and can be considered an Ecosystem Service, contributing to a more self-supporting river system. It is yet unclear which biomass applications are the most sustainable and how sustainable use of residual biomass can be achieved.
Key goals: Collaborative Governance Integrated management
Overview of the greenhouse gas emissions of different residual biomass applications and the processing locations in the Netherlands.
Innovative components
In this project, we compare the carbon footprint of different applications of riverine biomass and analyze how biomass use is currently organized by Dutch water management organizations. We combine quantitative and qualitative methods and applied a transdisciplinary approach, considering both stakeholder knowledge and experiences. We provide data on current practice and organisational structures which are valuable to practitioners in the Netherlands and internationally. Our project also provides an extensive comparison of the greenhouse gas emissions of different residual biomass applications, showing that some uses result in emission benefits and others in burdens (see Figure).
For whom and where?
Vegetation management departments of water management organisations in the Netherlands and internationally.
Data-collection methods: Interviews Life Cycle Assessment
Temporal scale: Project duration
Application development & findings
We found that changing the use of residual biomass to provide resources to a bioeconomy is not automatically sustainable. We analyzed how vegetation management and the use of biomass is currently organized in water management organizations and found that there is a trend to consider the use of residual biomass as an ecosystem service, contributing to the bioeconomy. But formal comparison tools to be applied in tendering procedures are lacking, resulting in trial and error approaches and uncertainty.
Vegetation management practices should be adapted to make optimal use of residual biomass as an ecosystem service. Changing tendering procedures to include sustainability evaluation of biomass harvest and biomass use can stimulate creative solutions to collect biomass, instead of leaving it behind, and finding feasible, societally relevant applications.
Status for day-to-day practice
There are currently no formal, objective evaluation methods to compare the sustainability merits of different residual biomass applications. The insights and data from this project should be used to develop tools for vegetation managers to compare different applications during tendering procedures in the future.
Key locations where the study took place.
Key locations: IJssel River (NL) Nederrijn-Lek River (NL) Rhine River (NL) Waal River (NL)
Spatial scale: Delta scale
Next steps
The insights and data from this project should be used to develop tools for vegetation managers to compare different applications during tendering procedures in the future.
Last updated: 10/02/2020
Explore the contact details to get to know more about the researchers, the supervisory team and the organizations that contribute to this project.
Main researcher
Swinda Pfau
Radboud University Nijmegen
Supervisory team
dr. Ben Dankbaar
Radboud University Nijmegen
Prof.dr. Toine Smits
Radboud University Nijmegen
Contributing partners
As soon as available, explore the storyline to get to know more about the main methods or prototype tools that were developed within this project.
Explore the output details for available publications to get a glance of the innovative components and implications to practice as well as the links to supporting datasets.
Project outputs
Life cycle greenhouse gas benefits or burdens of residual biomass from landscape management
Residual biomass from landscape management can contribute to both greenhouse gas benefits and burdens, depending on the application.
24/01/2019 by Swinda Pfau
Contains: Publication open access
Residual Biomass: A Silver Bullet to Ensure a Sustainable Bioeconomy?
Using residual biomass, such as grass and wood chips, as a resource instead of treating it as waste is not automatically more sustainable.
20/12/2018 by Swinda Pfau et al.
Contains: Publication open access
Also applicable to this project
Residual biomass from Dutch riverine areas—From waste to ecosystem service
We provide information on biomass applications and type of contractual arrangements for using residual riverine biomass as ecosystem service.
18/01/2019 by Astrid Bout et al.
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Contains: Publication open access
Take a look to the dissemination efforts and application experiences which are available in the news items and blogs.
Blogs
How to use biomass from riverine areas? Two projects, two approaches, one PhD journey
17/06/2019 by Swinda Pfau
A transdisciplinary approach to sustainable biomass use: combining green house gas emission calculations and interviews with river managers.
We joined efforts with the following projects to support with each other's expertise and experience the development of the new methods or prototype tools.
Related projects
Anything to ask or share?
About usWe would like to learn from your experiences and questions to take our knowledge further into practice in the Netherlands and abroad. Your feedback will help us to find out about your interests and how useful the information provided was to you.