Alley cropping of willows and grassland for bioenergy provision: productivity, tree-crop interactions and energy balance

The demand for biomass for bioenergy has increased rapidly in industrialized countries in the recent years. Biogenic energy carriers are known to reduce CO2 emissions. However, the resource-inefficient production of biomass often caused negative impacts on the environment, e.g. biodiversity losses, nitrate leaching, and erosion. The detrimental effects evolved mainly from annual crops. Therefore, the aim of modern bioenergy cropping systems is to combine yield stability and environmental benefits by the establishment of mixed-cropping systems. A particular emphasis is on perennial crops which are perceived as environmentally superior to annual crops. Agroforestry systems represent such mixed perennial cropping systems and consist of a mix of trees and arable crops or grassland within the same area of land. Agroforestry practices vary across the globe and alley cropping is a type of agroforestry system which is well adapted to the temperate zone, with a high degree of mechanization. Trees are planted in rows and crops are planted in the alleyways, which facilitates their management by machinery. This study was conducted to examine a young alley cropping system of willows and two grassland mixtures for bioenergy provision under temperate climate conditions. The first part of the thesis identified possible competition effects between willows and the two grassland mixtures. Since light seemed to be the factor most affecting the yield performance of the understory in temperate agroforestry systems, a biennial in situ artificial shade experiment was established over a separate clover-grass stand to quantify the effects of shade. Data to possible below- and aboveground interactions among willows and the two grassland mixtures and their effects on productivity, sward composition, and quality were monitored along a tree-grassland interface within the alleys. In the second part, productivity of the alley cropping system was examined on a triennial time frame and compared to separate grassland and willow stands as controls. Three different conversion technologies (combustion of hay, integrated generation of solid fuel and biogas from biomass, whole crop digestion) were applied to grassland biomass as feedstock and analyzed for its energetic potential. The energetic potential of willow wood chips was calculated by applying combustion as conversion technique. Net energy balances of separate grassland stands, agroforestry and pure willow stands evaluated their energy efficiency. Results of the biennial artificial shade experiment showed that severe shade (80 % light reduction) halved grassland productivity on average compared to a non-shaded control. White clover as heliophilous plant responded sensitively to limited radiation and its dry matter contribution in the sward decreased with increasing shade, whereas non-leguminous forbs (mainly segetal species) benefited. Changes in nutritive quality could not be confirmed by this experiment. Through the study on interactions within the alleys of the young agroforestry system it was possible to outline changes of incident light, soil temperature and sward composition of clover-grass along the tree-grassland interface. Nearly no effects of trees on precipitation, soil moisture and understory productivity occurred along the interface during the biennial experiment. Considering the results of the productivity and the net energy yield alley cropping system had lower than pure grassland stands, irrespective of the grassland seed mixture or fertilization, but was higher than that for pure willow stands. The comparison of three different energetic conversion techniques for the grassland biomass showed highest net energy yields for hay combustion, whereas the integrated generation of solid fuel and biogas from biomass (IFBB) and whole crop digestion performed similarly. However, due to the low fuel quality of hay, its direct combustion cannot be recommended as a viable conversion technique, whereas IFBB fuels were of a similar quality to wood chip from willow.

Impact of sward type, cutting date and conditioning temperature on mass and energy flows in the integrated generation of solid fuel and biogas from semi-natural grassland

Energy production from biomass and the conservation of ecologically valuable grassland habitats are two important issues of agriculture today. The combination of a bioenergy production, which minimises environmental impacts and competition with food production for land with a conversion of semi-natural grasslands through new utilization alternatives for the biomass, led to the development of the IFBB process. Its basic principle is the separation of biomass into a liquid fraction (press fluid, PF) for the production of electric and thermal energy after anaerobic digestion to biogas and a solid fraction (press cake, PC) for the production of thermal energy through combustion. This study was undertaken to explore mass and energy flows as well as quality aspects of energy carriers within the IFBB process and determine their dependency on biomass-related and technical parameters. Two experiments were conducted, in which biomass from semi-natural grassland was conserved as silage and subjected to a hydrothermal conditioning and a subsequent mechanical dehydration with a screw press. Methane yield of the PF and the untreated silage was determined in anaerobic digestion experiments in batch fermenters at 37°C with a fermentation time of 13-15 and 27-35 days for the PF and the silage, respectively. Concentrations of dry matter (DM), ash, crude protein (CP), crude fibre (CF), ether extract (EE), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), acid detergent ligning (ADL) and elements (K, Mg, Ca, Cl, N, S, P, C, H, N) were determined in the untreated biomass and the PC. Higher heating value (HHV) and ash softening temperature (AST) were calculated based on elemental concentration. Chemical composition of the PF and mass flows of all plant compounds into the PF were calculated. In the first experiment, biomass from five different semi-natural grassland swards (Arrhenaterion I and II, Caricion fuscae, Filipendulion ulmariae, Polygono-Trisetion) was harvested at one late sampling (19 July or 31 August) and ensiled. Each silage was subjected to three different temperature treatments (5°C, 60°C, 80°C) during hydrothermal conditioning. Based on observed methane yields and HHV as energy output parameters as well as literature-based and observed energy input parameters, energy and green house gas (GHG) balances were calculated for IFBB and two reference conversion processes, whole-crop digestion of untreated silage (WCD) and combustion of hay (CH). In the second experiment, biomass from one single semi-natural grassland sward (Arrhenaterion) was harvested at eight consecutive dates (27/04, 02/05, 09/05, 16/05, 24/05, 31/05, 11/06, 21/06) and ensiled. Each silage was subjected to six different treatments (no hydrothermal conditioning and hydrothermal conditioning at 10°C, 30°C, 50°C, 70°C, 90°C). Energy balance was calculated for IFBB and WCD. Multiple regression models were developed to predict mass flows, concentrations of elements in the PC, concentration of organic compounds in the PF and energy conversion efficiency of the IFBB process from temperature of hydrothermal conditioning as well as NDF and DM concentration in the silage. Results showed a relative reduction of ash and all elements detrimental for combustion in the PC compared to the untreated biomass of 20-90%. Reduction was highest for K and Cl and lowest for N. HHV of PC and untreated biomass were in a comparable range (17.8-19.5 MJ kg-1 DM), but AST of PC was higher (1156-1254°C). Methane yields of PF were higher compared to those of WCD when the biomass was harvested late (end of May and later) and in a comparable range when the biomass was harvested early and ranged from 332 to 458 LN kg-1 VS. Regarding energy and GHG balances, IFBB, with a net energy yield of 11.9-14.1 MWh ha-1, a conversion efficiency of 0.43-0.51, and GHG mitigation of 3.6-4.4 t CO2eq ha-1, performed better than WCD, but worse than CH. WCD produces thermal and electric energy with low efficiency, CH produces only thermal energy with a low quality solid fuel with high efficiency, IFBB produces thermal and electric energy with a solid fuel of high quality with medium efficiency. Regression models were able to predict target parameters with high accuracy (R2=0.70-0.99). The influence of increasing temperature of hydrothermal conditioning was an increase of mass flows, a decrease of element concentrations in the PC and a differing effect on energy conversion efficiency. The influence of increasing NDF concentration of the silage was a differing effect on mass flows, a decrease of element concentrations in the PC and an increase of energy conversion efficiency. The influence of increasing DM concentration of the silage was a decrease of mass flows, an increase of element concentrations in the PC and an increase of energy conversion efficiency. Based on the models an optimised IFBB process would be obtained with a medium temperature of hydrothermal conditioning (50°C), high NDF concentrations in the silage and medium DM concentrations of the silage.

Agricultural practices and horizontal nutrient balances in urban gardens and the alternative use of urban agricultural land in Khartoum, Sudan

The surge in the urban population evident in most developing countries is a worldwide phenomenon, and often the result of drought, conflicts, poverty and the lack of education opportunities. In parallel with the growth of the cities is the growing need for food which leads to the burgeoning expansion of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA). In this context, urban agriculture (UA) contributes significantly to supplying local markets with both vegetable and animal produce. As an income generating activity, UA also contributes to the livelihoods of poor urban dwellers. In order to evaluate the nutrient status of urban soils in relation to garden management, this study assessed nutrient fluxes (inputs and outputs) in gardens on urban Gerif soils on the banks of the River Nile in Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan. To achieve this objective, a preliminary baseline survey was carried out to describe the structure of the existing garden systems. In cooperation with the author of another PhD thesis (Ms. Ishtiag Abdalla), alternative uses of cow dung in brick making kilns in urban Khartoum were assessed; and the socio-economic criteria of the brick kiln owners or agents, economical and plant nutritional value of animal dung and the gaseous emission related to brick making activities were assessed. A total of 40 household heads were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire to collect information on demographic, socio-economic and migratory characteristics of the household members, the gardening systems used and the problems encountered in urban gardening. Based on the results of this survey, gardens were divided into three groups: mixed vegetable-fodder gardens, mixed vegetable-subsistence livestock gardens and pure vegetable gardens. The results revealed that UA is the exclusive domain of men, 80% of them non-native to Khartoum. The harvested produce in all gardens was market oriented and represented the main source of income for 83% of the gardeners. Fast growing leafy vegetables such as Jew’s mallow (Corchorous olitorius L.), purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) and rocket (Eruca sativa Mill.) were the dominant cultivated species. Most of the gardens (95%) were continuously cultivated throughout the year without any fallow period, unless they were flooded. Gardeners were not generally aware of the importance of crop diversity, which may help them overcome the strongly fluctuating market prices for their produce and thereby strengthen the contributions of UA to the overall productivity of the city. To measure nutrient fluxes, four gardens were selected and their nutrients inputs and outputs flows were monitored. In each garden, all plots were monitored for quantification of nutrient inputs and outputs. To determine soil chemical fertility parameters in each of the studied gardens, soil samples were taken from three selected plots at the beginning of the study in October 2007 (gardens L1, L2 and H1) and in April 2008 (garden H2) and at the end of the study period in March 2010. Additional soil sampling occurred in May 2009 to assess changes in the soil nutrient status after the River Nile flood of 2008 had receded. Samples of rain and irrigation water (river and well-water) were analyzed for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and carbon (C) content to determine their nutrient inputs. Catchment traps were installed to quantify the sediment yield from the River Nile flood. To quantify the nutrient inputs of sediments, samples were analyzed for N, P, K and organic carbon (Corg) content, cation exchange capacity (CEC) and the particle size distribution. The total nutrient inputs were calculated by multiplying the sediment nutrient content by total sediment deposits on individual gardens. Nutrient output in the form of harvested yield was quantified at harvest of each crop. Plant samples from each field were dried, and analyzed for their N, P, K and Corg content. Cumulative leaching losses of mineral N and P were estimated in a single plot in garden L1 from December 1st 2008 to July 1st 2009 using 12 ion exchange resins cartridges. Nutrients were extracted and analyzed for nitrate (NO3--N), ammonium (NH4+-N) and phosphate PO4-3-P. Changes in soil nutrient balance were assessed as inputs minus outputs. The results showed that across gardens, soil N and P concentrations increased from 2007 to 2009, while particle size distribution remained unchanged. Sediment loads and their respective contents of N, P and Corg decreased significantly (P < 0.05) from the gardens of the downstream lowlands (L1 and L2) to the gardens of the upstream highlands (H1 and H2). No significant difference was found in K deposits. None of the gardens received organic fertilizers and the only mineral fertilizer applied was urea (46-0-0). This equaled 29, 30, 54, and 67% of total N inputs to gardens L1, L2, H1, and H2, respectively. Sediment deposits of the River Nile floods contributed on average 67, 94, 6 and 42% to the total N, P, K and C inputs in lowland gardens and 33, 86, 4 and 37% of total N, P, K and C inputs in highland gardens. Irrigation water and rainfall contributed substantially to K inputs representing 96, 92, 94 and 96% of total K influxes in garden L1, L2, H1 and H2, respectively. Following the same order, total annual DM yields in the gardens were 26, 18, 16 and 1.8 t ha-1. Annual leaching losses were estimated to be 0.02 kg NH4+-N ha-1 (SE = 0.004), 0.03 kg NO3--N ha-1 (SE = 0.002) and 0.005 kg PO4-3-P ha-1 (SE = 0.0007). Differences between nutrient inputs and outputs indicated negative nutrient balances for P and K and positive balances of N and C for all gardens. The negative balances in P and K call for adoptions of new agricultural techniques such as regular manure additions or mulching which may enhance the soil organic matter status. A quantification of fluxes not measured in our study such as N2-fixation, dry deposition and gaseous emissions of C and N would be necessary to comprehensively assess the sustainability of these intensive gardening systems. The second part of the survey dealt with the brick making kilns. A total of 50 brick kiln owners/or agents were interviewed from July to August 2009, using a semi-structured questionnaire. The data collected included general information such as age, family size, education, land ownership, number of kilns managed and/or owned, number of months that kilns were in operation, quantity of inputs (cow dung and fuel wood) used, prices of inputs and products across the production season. Information related to the share value of the land on which the kilns were built and annual income for urban farmers and annual returns from dung for the animal raisers was also collected. Using descriptive statistics, budget calculation and Gini coefficient, the results indicated that renting the land to brick making kilns yields a 5-fold higher return than the rent for agriculture. Gini coefficient showed that the kiln owners had a more equal income distribution compared to farmers. To estimate emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and losses of N, P, K, Corg and DM from cow dung when used in brick making, samples of cow dung (loose and compacted) were collected from different kilns and analyzed for their N, P, K and Corg content. The procedure modified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 1994) was used to estimate the gaseous emissions of cow dung and fuel wood. The amount of deforested wood was estimated according to the default values for wood density given by Dixon et al. (1991) and the expansion ratio for branches and small trees given by Brown et al. (1989). The data showed the monetary value of added N and P from cow dung was lower than for mineral fertilizers. Annual consumption of compacted dung (381 t DM) as biomass fuel by far exceeded the consumption of fuel wood (36 t DM). Gaseous emissions from cow dung and fuel wood were dominated by CO2, CO and CH4. Considering that Gerif land in urban Khartoum supports a multifunctional land use system, efficient use of natural resources (forest, dung, land and water) will enhance the sustainability of the UA and brick making activities. Adoption of new kilns with higher energy efficiency will reduce the amount of biomass fuels (cow dung and wood) used the amount of GHGs emitted and the threat to the few remaining forests.