Abstract
In the EU, bioenergy is by far the most significant renewable energy source and more than two thirds of biomass utilized for energy conversion consists of forestry and agricultural residues, such as fruit tree pruning. Although still underutilized, biomass from pruning is a relevant energy feedstock that does not generate additional demand for land, nor negative impact on the environment and biodiversity. On the other hand, previously shredded pruning left in the field may sustain agricultural processes and help provide beneficial ecological services. In the latter case, the most relevant result is the increase in soil organic carbon, an essential factor for improving soil quality and promoting climate regulation. As a result, a “dilemma” arises for farmers over two conflicting pruning management options: “pruning to energy” vs. “pruning to soil”, respectively. The present study, performed in the frame of the Horizon 2020 project “uP_running”, is offering a straightforward evaluation tool to assess weather biomass resulting from fruit tree pruning could be removed from the field and used as energy feedstock without compromising both soil quality and the provision of important ecosystem services.
Highlights
A fruit tree plantation is a human-driven agricultural ecosystem where the farmer is managing its ecological functions to get a productive outcome
Considering 188 soil samples with different textures, the results show that the scores follow a statistical distribution
The increase in aridity index (AI) values causes a progressive increase in the soil organic matter (SOM) transition values because soil environmental conditions are in favor of SOM accumulation as AI gets larger, while in arid and semi- arid climates the SOM mineralization rate is faster
Summary
A fruit tree plantation is a human-driven agricultural ecosystem where the farmer is managing its ecological functions to get a productive outcome. Ecosystems can provide services conceived as those benefits that people obtain from the proper functioning of ecosystems [1,2,3] through processes that support and satisfy important needs of human life [4]. The structure and the properties of the farming system (i.e., the integration of physical, chemical, and biological components forming the ecosystem) give origin to several functions. These functions, in turn, may provide several services, offering a wide range of benefits, either monetary or not-monetary, improving the quality of human life [6]. A kind of “cascade effect” is activated: ecosystem structure → ecosystem functions → ecosystem services → human well-being
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