The big picture: using wildflower strips for pest control
They may be beautiful, but these strips prove pretty deadly for every farmer's mortal enemy: aphids
Project Summary
Start date:
1 July 2023
Duration:
3 years
Project Leader:
Biomass Connect has four primary aims:
1. Providing robust, independent information on biomass feedstock performance, agronomy, economics and environmental benefits to landowners and land managers.
2. De-risking new crop adoption by ensuring that geographic variations in the efficacy of biomass feedstocks and relevant innovations are fully evaluated and demonstrated to a broad range of stakeholders across the UK.
3. Sharing knowledge, experiences, and case studies to facilitate discussion and learning in the biomass sector.
4. Contributing to agricultural, environmental and bioenergy policy development by providing robust evidence and facilitating interactions between policy, academia, and industry.
Detail
Through the Biomass Connect platform, the project is building a UK-wide, cohesive, regionally based community who will contribute to the development, establishment and operation of the platform. Building this focal point for the industry will support the ambitious scaling up of both the bioenergy industry itself and the scale of planting which is required to align with the Committee on Climate Change’s modelling for net zero, which anticipates expanding from 10,000 ha to 700,000 ha by 2050.
Biomass Connect Demonstrator Hubs
The project comprises eight demonstration hubs across the four nations of the UK, in Ceredigion, South Ayrshire, Buckinghamshire, Devon, Midlothian, County Down, Northumberland and Yorkshire.
Each site grows a wide range of short-rotation trees, perennial grasses, and forbs. These are fast-growing crops requiring minimal inputs but producing large amounts of biomass. There are a range of end uses for biomass including combustion for heat and power, construction and packaging, cosmetics and food supplements, and the production of liquid fuels and platform chemicals.
The project compares crop and variety performance across UK regions and demonstrates innovations in breeding, cultivation, and harvesting and processing technologies with the potential to maximise the social, economic, and environmental benefits of biomass.
Project Leader
William Macalpine
Plant Breeder
Dr Ian Shield
Agronomist
Collaborators
This project is funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
This project involves researchers and industry partners from UKCEH, Rothamsted Research, Aberystwyth University, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), Crops for Energy, Newcastle University, NIAB and Bio-Global Industries.