Bioenergy in Australia: An improved approach for estimating spatial availability of biomass resources in the agricultural production zones

Abstract

Bioenergy production from crops and agricultural residues has a greenhouse gas mitigation potential. However, there is considerable debate about the size of this potential. This is partly due to difficulties in estimating the feedstock resource base accurately and with good spatial resolution. Here we provide two techniques for spatially estimating crop-based bioenergy feedstocks in Australia using regional agricultural statistics and national land use maps. The approach accommodates temporal variability by estimating ranges of feedstock availability and the shifting nature of zones of the highest spatial concentration of feedstocks. The techniques are applicable to biomass production from forestry, agricultural residues or oilseeds, all of which have been proposed as biofuel feedstocks. ► Dasymetric mapping appoach for producing spatial and temporal variation maps in feedstock production.► Combines land use and crop statistics to produce regionally precise feedstock maps. ► Feedstock concentrations and feedstock density maps enable identification of feedstock concentration spatially and comparison of yearly variation in production.