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Two studies conducted in Guadeloupe (West Indies) and Réunion (Indian Ocean) islands were designed to investigate the benefits of producing sugarcane as an energy crop and to assess the influence of agroclimatic factors on energy efficiency, respectively. In this context, it is essential to know the low heating value of the dry above-ground biomass (LHVd, MJ/kg) and its energy yield (EY, MJ/m2) in order to select the best varieties and set up a payment method for growers. Eighteen Poaceae (sugarcane and Erianthus) cultivars were compared under wet tropical environmental conditions in Guadeloupe. Three sugarcane cultivars were studied in four contrasting environments in Réunion. The partition sampling and biomass measurement procedures were identical at both locations. Low heating value (LHV) predictions were achieved using near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) after specific calibration (Guadeloupe), or arithmetically after lignocellulosic compound prediction (Réunion). In both studies, LHV variability was very low and slightly dependent on the site, cultivar and above-ground biomass components (millable stalks and tops, and green and dead leaves). Considering the overall dry above-ground biomass (DAB, kg/m2), the LHVd was calculated by averaging 159 samples (mean 16.65 MJ/kg) in Guadeloupe and 315 samples (mean 16.45 MJ/kg) for Réunion. An excellent linear relationship between the DAB and its EY, regardless of cultivar, age and environment, was found (n = 474 and R² = 0.99). Sugarcane energy content assessment could thus be simplified by measuring the DAB, while enabling development of a faster method of payment for growers based on the DAB measurement and the correlation between DAB and EY. Finally, the findings of this study should allow growers to rapidly determine the commercial value of their sugarcane crops, and also enable purchasers to assess the amount of recoverable energy. (Résumé d'auteur)

It is widely known that fossil fuels are limited; consequently, the generation of new sources of energy in a clean and environmentally friendly manner is a research priority. Bioethanol appears to be one potential solution, especially second-generation production from renewable biomass.In order to use lignocellulosic feedstock to produce bioethanol, its polysaccharide components, cellulose and hemicellulose, must be hydrolysed into soluble sugars, which can then be converted into ethanol by fermentative microorganisms such as Geobacillus thermoglucosidasius TM242 used by the company ReBio Technologies Ltd.To date, the cost of commercial enzymes used during the hydrolysis process remains a major economic consideration in the production of second-generation bioethanol as an alternative fuel. The research project presented in this thesis aims to improve this rate-limiting step of microbial bioethanol production through an investigation of the different enzymes associated with hemicellulose hydrolysis. Firstly, the TM242 genome sequence revealed a number of genes encoding glycoside-hydrolases. Six of these genes were cloned and expressed in E. coli and the recombinant enzymes characterised; three of them, two β-xylosidases and an α arabinofuranosidase, are relevant to xylan hydrolysis, and were found to be highly active and thermostable. Crystallisation of one of the β-xylosidases permitted the determination of a high-resolution (1.7 Å) structure of the apo-enzyme along with a lower resolution (2.6 Å) structure of the enzyme-substrate complex, resulting in the first reported structure of a GH52 family member (Espina et al., 2014).Secondly, as the TM242 microorganism lacks xylanase enzymes, four genes encoding xylanases from closely-related Geobacillus strains were cloned and expressed in E. coli, with one of them being also successfully cloned and expressed in G. thermoglucosidasius TM242. This heterologous xylanase was secreted in active form representing an enhanced biomass utilisation by TM242.In conclusion, it is felt that the findings presented here have the potential to make a valuable contribution towards second-generation bioethanol production.

Reducing agronomic input supply can significantly contribute to decrease the environmental impact of bioenergy cropping systems. Currently, there is a renewed industrial interest in non-food oil crops for different end-uses application. Among species from Brassica genus, Brassica carinata A. Braun is an interesting winter annual crop in warm and semi-arid environments and may provide a rotation alternative with cereal crops, sourcing non-edible oil for the industry, additional incomes to the farmers and soil benefits. The present study compared four Brassica carinata lines (GID-6165, GIP-6164, GID-6091, GID-6084) under two different organic fertilization levels (80 and 160 kg N ha-1) in a semiarid Mediterranean area. These four lines have not been tested in Southern Italy previously, nor under the present low-input cultivation practices in semiarid Mediterranean area. Main findings showed a significant fertilization effect (P=0.05), with the high-input providing higher seed yields and harvest index than low-input. There was no genotype effect, however, the gap between potential (i.e. seed yield at the programmed plant density) and actual yields was rather high for GID-6165 and GID-6080. On the other hand, genotype had the largest effect on the thousand seed weight and the residual biomass yield. In general, GID-6091 and GID-6165 reached seed physiological maturity earlier than GID-6084 and GID-6164 lines. The present study proved that improved B. carinata lines can be grown in semiarid Mediterranean area under low-input organic systems, providing satisfactory seed yields. However, seedbed preparation was noticed to be key to narrow the gap between potential and actual seed yield, particularly under the present clay soil. Proceedings of the 30th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 9-12 May 2022, Online, pp. 120-124

On behalf of the EURAF2020 Scientific and Organizing Committees, we are very pleased to introduce the rich collection of research on agroforestry illustrated in this book of abstracts and presented within the 5° European Agroforestry Conference. Unfortunately, as we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to meet only remotely, despite all the efforts of our local and national organizers to hold the conference in presence. We are conscious about the completely different dimension, which does not allow participants to meet, discuss and live the conference supported by an environment socially vibrant and rich of cross-cultural stimuli as the real Sardinia can offer. Nevertheless, in accordance with the mission of the European Agroforestry Federation, EURAF, to promote agroforestry knowledge, we wish to support the sharing of data presented and solicit a fruitful scientific confrontation on agroforestry issues. This book is the result of a long and rigorous work performed by the authors (about 230 abstracts sent from 5 continents and 37 countries) and members of the Scientific Committee. The book will be one of the tools supporting such confrontation we are glad to foster from the heart of the Mediterranean.

II ABSTRACT Climate change is expected due to the increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbondioxide and other trace gasses, which lead to changes in the radioactive balance of the atmosphere. Such changes propagate further to those in temperature i and other climatic variables. Hydrologic systems and water resources are likely to be seriously impacted by global climate change. Such processes as surface runoff, precipitation, soil moisture, groundwater, water quality, and sea levels will be significantly exposed to effects of climate change. Eventually, these effects will have to be considered in water resources planning and management. The study presented stems from the above needs and addresses the problem of climate change-water resources interactions. It is intended here to investigate the possible effects of climate change on watershed scale hydrologic processes and water demand. Within this context, the current methods used in developed countries are applied to the case of the Gediz River Basin, and possible impacts of changes in climatic variables, i.e., precipitation and temperature, are investigated as they relate to runoff The results of the study should not considered as exact values to represent the effects of climate change. They are essentially `estimates` on `likely` effects of an expected climate change. However, the results also show that, if the prescribed climate change scenarios do occur in the future, they will have significant effects on the hydrology of the basin which, in turn, affects water demand for various water resources development plans. Accordingly, the study presented should be considered as an initial step towards assessment of climate change impacts and should be reaccomplished in future attempts towards any planning or management activity in the basin. ÖZET İklim değişikliği, atmosferdeki karbondioksit (CO2) ve diğer antropojen sera gazı konsantrasyonlarının giderek artması sonucu beklenmektedir. İklim değişikliğinin sonucunda beklenen en önemli olgu, sıcaklık, yağış, evapotranspirasyon, akış gibi temel iklimsel ve hidrolojik değişkenlerdeki muhtemel değişimlerdir. Bu etkilerin su kaynakları planlama ve yönetiminde değerlendirilmesi gerekmektedir. Sunulan çalışma, iklim değişikliğinin su kaynakları ile olan ilişkisini incelemektedir. Bu değişimlerden hidrolojik çevrimin ve su kaynaklarının gerek miktarı ve gerekse kalitesinin de etkilenmesi beklenmektedir. Dolayısıyla, küresel iklim değişikliğinin havza su dengesine ve su kaynaklarının planlama ve yönetimine de yansıması söz konusudur. Bu kapsamda sunulan çalışmada alt havza bazında sıcaklık ve yağış gibi iklim parametrelerinin, akıma olan etkileri incelenmiş ve duyarlılık analizi ile sonuçlar değerlendirilmiştir. 75

Sustainable agriculture leads today to important questions about the diversification of agricultural production and sources of income for farmers, the use of rural and arable land for food and non-food crops, the contribution of agriculture to climate change fighting and the supply of renewable energy. Bioenergy from agriculture is at the heart of these concerns, integrating sustainable development key components: environment and climate change, energy economics and energy supply, agriculture, rural and social development. The lack of primary and reliable data on bioenergy externalities from agriculture and the lack of decision-making tools are important non-technological barriers to the development of bioenergy from agriculture on a large scale, and, consequently, to the achievement of the national and regional objectives of sustainable development with respect to greenhouse gas mitigation, secure and diversified energy supply, rural development and employment and the future of agriculture. Furthermore, the recent worldwide controversies about transport biofuels, food shortages and increasing prices have demonstrated the urgent need for sustainability criteria applied to biofuels and bioenergy. Within this current sustainable development framework, a project entitled TEXBIAG integrating experts from 4 research institutions is financed by the Belgian Science Policy. The final objective of this project is to lead to an actual and significant contribution of bioenergy from agriculture to the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, to a secure and diversified energy supply and to farmers' incomes and rural development. To reach this final objective, the project develops three specific tools: (1) a database of primary quantitative data related to environmental and socio-economic impacts of bioenergy from agriculture integrating biomass logistics; (2) a mathematical model monetizing bioenergy externalities from agriculture; and (3) a prediction tool assessing the impacts of political decisions made in the framework ofthe development of bioenergy from agriculture on different economic sectors (energy, agriculture, industry, and environment). An integrated interface tool will be programmed where access to and update of the three tools will be prepared. The project methodology will be conducted for a given number of scenarios with sensitivity analysis wherever possible. The three main target groups that will benefit from the project are: the government officials and policy makers in the field of agriculture, energy and environment in Belgium and its two main regions, the small, medium and large energy companies and the agricultural sector

The production of 2nd generation bioethanol has reached a pilot stage. Some bioethanol plants are under construction around the world. Among them, one is being built in North-West of Italy by Chemtex. The planned yearly production is 40,000 t/year of bioethanol. The crop being selected as biomass is the Giant Reed (Arundo donax), that is a perennial crop; do not require irrigation and its cultivation require much less inputs than corn for biomass. Farmers need some new information on these new crops for biomass production. Also new information is thus requested by the market or by public agencies: energy balance and life cycle analysis of crop cultivation, labor budget, etc. To make comparison between standard biomasses and new ones, there is a need of standard data and procedures in order to compare the cultivation systems, and to make all the requested assessment. The authors build a web application to do so within the frame of the IEE Project Bioenergy Farm. The tool allow the user, in anonymous way, to compute its own crop cultivation costs, including the use of machinery, manpower, and production factors in order to compare different farming systems. Both field and logistic operations could be evaluated. Also the energetic balance could be computed. The application represents a step toward the standardization of data and calculation procedures for working time, energy balance and operation costs. The application is accessible, free of charge, at http://bioenergyfarm.eu. In this paper an energy balance of giant reed crops, is presented. One farm with 10 fields (80 ha) located north of Turin, Italy, has been used to analyze the giant reed performance. The fields were located between 0.7 km and 14 km. The logistics plays an important role in quantifying the operation costs. For the case of Arundo donax this variation is translated to 90 €/ha between fields next to the farm and the one far from the farm (assuming 23 tDM/ha yield), depicting the importance of incorporating the geographical variability of the production system (that diversify the transport operations cost) and the field characteristics such as field shape, soil conditions etc. Similar analysis will be carried out on Giant Reed, on the same farm and the comparison will be made among the two crops. Proceedings of the 20th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 18-22 June 2012, Milan, Italy, pp. 191-195

Weather and climate extremes such its droughts and floods have far reaching impacts in Kenya. They have had implications on a variety of sectors including, agriculture, water resources, health, energy and disaster management among others. Lake Victoria and its catchment support millions of people and any impact onl its ability to support the livelihood of the communities in this region is of major concern. Thus, the main objective of this study was to assess the potential future climatic changes in the Nzoia catchment in the Lake Victoria basin and how they might affect streamflow The Soil and Water Assessment Tool was used to investigate the impact of climatic change on streamflow of the study area. The model was set up using readily available spatial and temporal data and calibrated against measured daily streamflow. Climate change. scenarios were obtained from general circulation models Results obtained showed increased amounts of annual rainfall for all the scenarios but with variations on a monthly basis. All - but 1 - global circulation models (GCMS) showed consistency in the monthly rainfall amounts. The analysis revealed important rainfall-runoff linear relationships for certain months that could be extrapolated to estimate amounts of streamflow under various scenarios of change in rainfall. Streamflow response was not sensitive to changes in temperature. If all other variables e.g. land cover, population growth etc, were held constant. a significant increase in streamflow may be expected in the coming decades as a consequence of increased rainfall amounts.

This study is a follow-up on the the implementation of a business model, which was created in a co-creation process between two universities and an established SME specialized in monitoring municipal and industrial water distribution systems.. A shared collaboration sustainability innovation project between two universities and SME company on research, development and innovation context results was analyzed. A product was innovated for water systems monitoring service's needs and generated from two universities and SMEs shared RDI pilot. Authors elaborate findings for commercialization possibilities success factors and challenges for the co-creation concept. Evaluation criteria used are implementation feasibility and environmental & economical value. InTo tool is utilized for after commercialization phase to evaluate business model in this case study. Literature review focuses on collaboration enhanced sustainability innovations, which is used as comparison frame. Authors suggest efficient actions for collaborative innovation and hurdles to stay away for smooth environmental area innovation commercialization.