Toward Life Cycle Analysis on Land Use Change and Climate Impacts from Bioenergy Production

Land use change (LUC) associated with bioenergy production can result in significant climate impacts. This chapter reviews LUC and climate impacts in a bioenergy life cycle analysis (LCA) setting. We first review current understanding regarding bioenergy feedstock production and its influence on changes of land cover, land use, and land management. Then by examining biogeochemical and biogeophysical processes associated with LUC, we identify major impacts that can be significant for bioenergy crop production, including carbon stock changes in vegetation and soil, nitrous oxide emissions, and surface albedo change. Finally, we introduce a bioenergy LCA that incorporates LUC impacts and also provide an example of integrating LUC-induced biogeochemical and biogeophysical climate impacts in a biofuel LCA. Major challenges and future needs are highlighted at the end of the chapter. Further efforts should focus on improving LUC estimation, quantification, and integration of LUC-induced biogeophysical impacts, including but not limited to surface albedo effects, and examining the importance of ecologically sensitive regions in overall LUC estimates.