Biodiversity Impacts of Increased Ethanol Production in Brazil

A.S Duden,A.P.C Faaij,P.A Verweij,D Baisero,F Van Der Hilst,C Rondinini

doi:10.3390/land9010012

A.S Duden, A.P.C Faaij + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/land9010012

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Journal: Land	Publication Date: Jan 3, 2020
Citations: 7	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Utrecht University, Sapienza University of Rome

Abstract

Growing domestic and international ethanol demand is expected to result in increased sugarcane cultivation in Brazil. Sugarcane expansion currently results in land-use changes mainly in the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes, two severely threatened biodiversity hotspots. This study quantifies potential biodiversity impacts of increased ethanol demand in Brazil in a spatially explicit manner. We project changes in potential total, threatened, endemic, and range-restricted mammals’ species richness up to 2030. Decreased potential species richness due to increased ethanol demand in 2030 was projected for about 19,000 km2 in the Cerrado, 17,000 km2 in the Atlantic Forest, and 7000 km2 in the Pantanal. In the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest, the biodiversity impacts of sugarcane expansion were mainly due to direct land-use change; in the Pantanal, they were largely due to indirect land-use change. The biodiversity impact of increased ethanol demand was projected to be smaller than the impact of other drivers of land-use change. This study provides a first indication of biodiversity impacts related to increased ethanol production in Brazil, which is useful for policy makers and ethanol producers aiming to mitigate impacts. Future research should assess the impact of potential mitigation options, such as nature protection, agroforestry, or agricultural intensification.

Highlights

Brazil is one of the major producers and exporters of agricultural and forestry products in the world [1,2]
Endemic Speciesrichness richnessindex index (SRI) was highest in the Amazon and eastern Cerrado
We found that in the absence of increased ethanol demand, Brazil was projected to experience a range of SRI changes due to land-use change caused by increased demand for other agricultural and silvicultural commodities

Summary

Introduction

Brazil is one of the major producers and exporters of agricultural and forestry products in the world [1,2]. Brazil currently has the largest area of sugarcane cultivation in the world [2], and is the second largest producer of ethanol [3]. The historical increase in sugarcane cultivation is primarily the result of Brazilian policies focused on stimulating the production of sugarcane-based ethanol in order to increase energy security, promote rural development, and decrease the dependency on fossil fuels [4]. Due to growing domestic and international demand, Brazilian ethanol production is expected to increase from 33.3 billion liters in 2018/2019 [5] up to. 54.2 billion liters in 2030 [6] based on the global outlook of International Energy Agency (IEA) and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) [7]. Sugarcane is grown mainly in the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biome in the southeast of Brazil, and has recently expanded further into the northwestern part of the Cerrado biome [4,8]

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