Urban food consumption contributes significantly to global biodiversity loss. To ensure a sustainable food supply for the growing urban population a transformation of food production and consumption ...patterns is necessary. Here, options for reducing the food-related biodiversity footprint of Vienna (Austria), a high-income city in Europe were assessed regarding measures of product substitution, demand reduction through avoidance of waste and caloric overconsumption and a shift from imports to domestic production. The biodiversity footprints of 24 food consumption patterns were calculated with a life-cycle-assessment approach applying country- and primary biomass-specific factors for vertebrate species loss derived from a high-resolution global countryside species-area-relationship model that incorporates land-use intensity and spatially-explicit information on Vienna's source regions. Compared to the baseline food consumption in Vienna of 2010, diets with less animal products could reduce the footprint by 21%–43%, while waste reduction and adhering to the recommended caloric intake could reduce the footprint by 5% and 9%, respectively. Decreasing the demand for primary biomass under alternative diets could also free up domestic cropland and allow for reducing imports and relocating production from abroad to Austria. This could reduce Vienna's biodiversity footprint additionally by 5%–21%, depending on diet and demand level, due to comparatively higher yields and lower native species richness in Austria. Results further indicate that shifting towards a vegetarian diet requires the least product substitution per footprint reduction among the examined alternative diets. Substituting animal products with plant-based alternatives from area-efficient production systems located outside of biodiversity hotspots emerges as a promising strategy for Western cities to reduce their biodiversity footprint.
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•Advancing urbanization makes food supply of cities a key lever for sustainability.•Diets with less animal products lower Vienna's biodiversity footprint by up to 43%.•14% of the footprint are due to avoidable waste (5%) and overconsumption (9%).•Shifting from imports to domestic food can reduce Vienna's biodiversity footprint.•Reduced primary biomass demand allows for safeguarding biodiversity hotspots.
Urbanization processes are accompanied by growing global challenges for food systems. Urban actors are increasingly striving to address these challenges through a focus on sustainable diets. However, ...transforming food systems towards more sustainable diets is challenging and it is unclear what the local scope of action might be. Co-production of knowledge between science and non-science is particularly useful for analysing context-specific solutions and promise to result in more robust socio-economic, political and technical solutions. Thus, this paper aims to integrate different types and sources of knowledge to understand urban food systems transformation towards a more sustainable diet in Vienna; and, second, to analyse and reflect on the difficulties and ways forward to integrate diverse actors’ perspectives, multiple methods and epistemologies. We created different future scenarios that illustrate the synergies and trade-offs of various bundles of measures and the interactions among single dimensions of sustainable diets. These scenarios show that there is plenty of scope for local action, but co-ordination across diverse groups, interests, and types of knowledge is necessary to overcome lock-ins.
Short food supply chains and circularity are discussed as key factors for a sustainable food system. Although self-sufficiency ratios (SSR) are often used to characterize agri-food systems, the ...concept of SSR remains inconsistently defined, particularly when means of production such as livestock feed are explicitly considered. We present a systematic conceptualization of SSR, i.e., the ratio of domestic production to consumption within a region along three dimensions: a) livestock products, b) cropland products, and c) primary agricultural biomass. While a) and b) refer to the domestic production and net-trade of livestock resp. crop products, c) relates to domestic agricultural primary production and primary biomass consumption representing the feed embodied in consumed livestock products. As such, the third dimension indicates the potential self-sufficiency for a region assuming consumed livestock products stem from domestic livestock, fed with domestic crops and grass. We quantify these three SSR dimensions for 226 regions (NUTS2) in the European Union (EU) based on detailed agricultural statistics and models. Results show that 14 % of EU regions were self-sufficient, and 26 % were import-dependent for all three dimensions. We find that 54 % of regions were self-sufficient for ruminant livestock products and 39 % for monogastric livestock products underlining a spatially concentrated pork, egg, and poultry production structure in the EU. Moreover, 21 % of regions are dependent on crop imports and simultaneously self-sufficient or net-exporters of livestock products. Our investigation on the relationship between agricultural production and consumption discloses a widespread disconnectedness of European livestock systems between land use and consumption. Expanding a narrow understanding of food self-sufficiency by integrating a primary biomass perspective allows for a more nuanced debate on sustainable agri-food systems. The results, first, demonstrate the substantial role of net-trade in the supply of regional food systems and, second, indicate room for stronger circular integration of crop- and livestock systems.
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•Carbon accounting of material substitution with biomass compared to fuel substitution.•GHG benefits of material substitution are analysed under different accounting methods.•High ...benefits in comparison to fuel substitution with biomass are possible.•Benefits do not (fully) materialize under default methods, creating wrong incentives.•Default IPCC accounting methods need to be revised to provide adequate incentives.
There is evidence that the replacement of carbon-intensive products with bio-based substitutes (‘material substitution with biomass’) can be highly efficient in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Based on two case studies (CS1/2) for Austria, potential benefits of material substitution in comparison to fuel substitution are analysed. GHG savings are calculated according to default IPCC approaches (Tier 2 method assuming first-order decay) and with more realistic approaches based on distribution functions. In CS1, high savings are achieved by using wood residues for the production of insulating boards instead of energy. The superiority of material substitution is due to the establishment of a long-term carbon storage, the high emission factor of wood in comparison to natural gas and higher efficiencies of gas-fired facilities.
The biomass feedstock in CS2 is lignocellulosic ethanol being used for bio-ethylene production (material substitution) or replacing gasoline (fuel substitution). GHG savings are mainly due to lower production emissions of bio-ethylene in comparison to conventional ethylene and significantly lower than in CS1 (per unit of biomass consumed). While CS1 is highly robust to parameter variation, the long-term projections in CS2 are quite speculative.
To create adequate incentives for including material substitution in national climate strategies, shortcomings of current default accounting methods must be addressed. Under current methods the GHG savings in both case studies would not (fully) materialize in the national GHG inventory. The main reason is that accounting of wood products is confined to the proportion derived from domestic harvest, whereas imported biomass used for energy is treated as carbon-neutral. Further inadequacies of IPCC default accounting methods include the assumption of exponential decay and the disregard of advanced bio-based products.
Understanding patterns, dynamics, and drivers of land use is crucial for improving our ability to cope with sustainability challenges. The human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) ...framework provides a set of integrated socio-ecological indicators that quantify how land use alters energy flows in ecosystems via land conversions and biomass harvest. Thus, HANPP enables researchers to systematically and consistently assess the outcome of changes in land cover and land-use intensity across spatio-temporal scales. Yet, fine-scale HANPP assessments are so far missing, an information important to address site-specific ecological implications of land use. Here, we provide such an assessment for Europe at a 1-km scale for the years 1990, 2000, and 2006. The assessment was based on a consistent land-use/biomass flow dataset derived from statistical data, remote sensing maps, and a dynamic global vegetation model. We find that HANPP in Europe amounted to ~43 % of potential productivity, well above the global average of ~25 %, with little variation in the European average since 1990. HANPP was highest in Central Europe and lower in Northern and Southern Europe. At the regional level, distinct changes in land-use intensity were observed, most importantly the decline of cropland areas and yields following the breakdown of socialism in Eastern Europe and the subsequent recovery after 2000, or strong dynamics related to storm events that resulted in massive salvage loggings. In sum, however, these local dynamics cancelled each other out at the aggregate level. We conclude that this finding warrants further research into aspects of the scale-dependency of dynamics and stability of land use.
Human-induced vegetation fires destroy a large amount of biomass each year and thus constitute an important fraction of the human interference with the energy flows of terrestrial ecosystems. This ...paper presents a quantification of the biomass burned in large-scale as well as small-scale human-induced vegetation fires at the country level for the year 2000. The amount of biomass burned in large scale fires is estimated combining information on the amount of biomass destroyed by large vegetation fires each year, derived by remote sensing, with estimates about the fraction induced by human activities. For biomass flows resulting from shifting cultivation, no comprehensive information is available at the global scale. Therefore, this flow was modelled on the basis of data on the area subjected to shifting cultivation and assumptions about the typical length of the cropping and fallow periods and the amount of biomass destroyed in each rotation cycle. The results show that the amount of biomass consumed in anthropogenic vegetation fires ranges between 3.5 and 3.9
billion tons dry matter per year (Pg dm/yr), a considerable amount when compared to the global socioeconomic biomass harvest of 12
Pg dm/yr. One third of the biomass consumed in anthropogenic fires each year, 1.0–1.4
Pg dm, results from shifting cultivation. Anthropogenic fires are most important in the regions of Sub-Saharan Africa (2202
Tg dm/yr), Latin America (795
Tg dm/yr), South-Eastern Asia (336
Tg dm/yr) and Central Asia (157
Tg dm/yr), whereas in regions dominated by industrialized countries, anthropogenic vegetation fires play a minor role. Due to the lack of consistent and spatially explicit data for the year 2000, these numbers do not include agricultural residues burned in the field. The inclusion of residue burning in the year 1985 would increase the total biomass consumed by 0.45
Pg dm to a total of between 4.0 and 4.4
Pg dm/yr. The paper shows that the current geographic pattern of biomass burning can be explained by a combination of natural factors, such as the type of the potential vegetation, and socioeconomic factors, such as population density and the degree of industrialization of a region, which ultimately determine the application of vegetation fires in land use management. It is expected that the magnitude of anthropogenic vegetation fires will decrease in absolute and relative terms, mainly due to population growth and the diffusion of modern land use technologies, which more and more replace the function of vegetation fires as a land management tool.
The possibility of using bioenergy as a climate change mitigation measure has sparked a discussion of whether and how bioenergy production contributes to sustainable development. We undertook a ...systematic review of the scientific literature to illuminate this relationship and found a limited scientific basis for policymaking. Our results indicate that knowledge on the sustainable development impacts of bioenergy production is concentrated in a few well‐studied countries, focuses on environmental and economic impacts, and mostly relates to dedicated agricultural biomass plantations. The scope and methodological approaches in studies differ widely and only a small share of the studies sufficiently reports on context and/or baseline conditions, which makes it difficult to get a general understanding of the attribution of impacts. Nevertheless, we identified regional patterns of positive or negative impacts for all categories – environmental, economic, institutional, social and technological. In general, economic and technological impacts were more frequently reported as positive, while social and environmental impacts were more frequently reported as negative (with the exception of impacts on direct substitution of GHG emission from fossil fuel). More focused and transparent research is needed to validate these patterns and develop a strong science underpinning for establishing policies and governance agreements that prevent/mitigate negative and promote positive impacts from bioenergy production.
The transformation towards a low-carbon bioeconomy until 2050 is one of the main strategic long-term targets of the European Union. This work presents transformation scenarios for the case of Austria ...with GHG reduction to about 20% of Kyoto baseline. The scenarios are developed with an optimization model integrating the energy sector, land use and biomass flows. Focus is on investigating possible developments in domestic biomass supply and use. Biomass is crucial for (largely) decarbonising the energy system and replacing fossil-based and energyintensive materials. Domestic biomass use (dry mass) increases by 32% in an 'intensive' and 11% in an 'alternative' transformation scenario, while total energy consumption decreases by 40%. Transformation to a low-carbon bioeconomy could be accomplished without additional biomass imports.
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•Transformation scenarios to a low-carbon bioeconomy in Austria.•Optimization model integrating the energy sector, land use and biomass flows.•2 Pathways to GHG emission levels of about 20% of Kyoto baseline in 2050.•Biomass use increases by 11% in one and 32% in the other scenario (2010–2050).•Transformation is technically feasible without additional biomass imports.
Given the intricate link between biodiversity and poverty, this article critically reflects on the role of mainstreaming biodiversity in development policy and practice. In order to better understand ...the operational challenges ‘on the ground’, we present some of the dominant development frameworks within which development organizations operate, all with a view to better understand how aid ‘thinks’ and ‘works’. The article then examines the concept of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) as a potential avenue to mainstream biodiversity into development.
In the context of sustainable development, we investigate four subsistence communities, one each from India, Bolivia, Laos and Thailand, to understand the systemic interrelations between the food ...production systems and related environmental pressures. In doing so, we revisit Ester Boserup's theory of increasing land productivity at the expense of declining labour productivity as a consequence of agricultural intensification. Our data confirm Boserup's assumptions within the reach of traditional agriculture, but find them not to apply to hunting & gathering communities and to agricultural systems now increasingly dependent on fossil fuels and industrial fertilizers. Instead we propose a theory of "sociometabolic transitions" as being more appropriate to understanding transitions in land and labour productivity across a wider range of modes of subsistence.
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