1245 | 615 | Local bioenergy production in a rural community using invasive alien plant species and introducing new land use practices in floodplains | Csaba Vaszkó
Due to inappropriate land use and water management practices, invasive alien plants have spread very rapidly in the floodplains of the Tisza and Körös rivers in recent decades. One shrub species, Amorpha fruticosa has colonised a large part of the floodplains. Based on complementary field surveys and aerial photo assessments, up to 24% of parts of the floodplain may be covered by Amorpha fruticosa. This high density shrub increases flood risk, increases the cost of agricultural land use and contributes to biodiversity degradation. One of the economic challenges facing rural communities in the region is the increased cost of energy, particularly for heating. A local community, along the river Tisza successfuly set up a pilot project to gain new land for bioenergy production and nature conservation. _x000D_
The initiative is based on the concept that invasive shrubs have high energy content and can be converted into bioenergy. The local municipality with other stakeholders began to eradicate invasive shrub on an infested pilot area and established a local biomass supply chain to harvest and convert invasive plants into woodchips. The produced woodchips, as bioenergy source is utilized in biomass boilers that produce green heat for local public buildings, as well as transported to a heating plant. On the one hand, in order to prevent the encroachment of invasive alien shrubs and to ensure the continuous production of biomass, the public authority established a native tree plantation for energy and new grassland management. The project has already delivered multiple impacts both for the community, for local economy and the environment, such as improving biodiversity status, reducing flood risk, replacing natural gas used for heating, and developing new land use skills._x000D_
Csaba Vaszkó
Geographer; Doctoral School of Environmental Sciences, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Gödöllő, Szent István Campus, HUNGARY
ID Abstract: 615