Scholarlink

<p>The rate of on-farm biogas production by anaerobic digestion has increased in Europe since the beginning of the twenty-first century, largely due to policies supporting low-carbon energy production. Anaerobic digestion farms are farms where farmers invest in biogas production mainly from agricultural feedstock, and remain the main investors. Biogas production brings new challenges to agriculture, and current scientific literature does not provide clear conclusions on its agri-environmental effects. Current studies focus on one or more of the agri-environmental effects of on-farm biogas development (mainly greenhouse gas balance, carbon storage, and nitrogen losses), assuming that the farming system as a whole remains unchanged. However, they rarely investigate how biogas production performance relates to indirect changes in farm practices and activities. To better understand the changes in farm practices linked to biogas production, we surveyed 23 biogas farmers operating 19 different on-farm biogas units in two areas of northeast France. We aimed to cover various configurations (e.g., farm activities, digester capacity, number of farmers involved, and energy recovery methods) to capture a diversity of farm functioning. We analyzed these qualitative data by identifying recurring examples of practice changes (or lack thereof). Our results show that biogas development led to various changes in nitrogen fertilization practices, forage and permanent grassland management, and cultivation practices. Biogas production can induce both minor and significant changes on farms, with a variety of drivers of change. These changes depend on the farm characteristics and activities that biogas farmers can develop. The novelty of our research lies in highlighting this diversity of practices and drivers, which are generally not considered in the literature on the agri-environmental assessment of biogas, even though they could significantly affect the results of such assessments. Biogas sustainability research must better consider the dynamics of farming systems and farmers’ agency in on-farm biogas development.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Accounting for the systemic effects of anaerobic digestion on the practices of farmers

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年8月3日

查看全文
  • Jeanne Cadiou,
  • Pierre-Marie Aubert,
  • Jean-Marc Meynard

摘要

The rate of on-farm biogas production by anaerobic digestion has increased in Europe since the beginning of the twenty-first century, largely due to policies supporting low-carbon energy production. Anaerobic digestion farms are farms where farmers invest in biogas production mainly from agricultural feedstock, and remain the main investors. Biogas production brings new challenges to agriculture, and current scientific literature does not provide clear conclusions on its agri-environmental effects. Current studies focus on one or more of the agri-environmental effects of on-farm biogas development (mainly greenhouse gas balance, carbon storage, and nitrogen losses), assuming that the farming system as a whole remains unchanged. However, they rarely investigate how biogas production performance relates to indirect changes in farm practices and activities. To better understand the changes in farm practices linked to biogas production, we surveyed 23 biogas farmers operating 19 different on-farm biogas units in two areas of northeast France. We aimed to cover various configurations (e.g., farm activities, digester capacity, number of farmers involved, and energy recovery methods) to capture a diversity of farm functioning. We analyzed these qualitative data by identifying recurring examples of practice changes (or lack thereof). Our results show that biogas development led to various changes in nitrogen fertilization practices, forage and permanent grassland management, and cultivation practices. Biogas production can induce both minor and significant changes on farms, with a variety of drivers of change. These changes depend on the farm characteristics and activities that biogas farmers can develop. The novelty of our research lies in highlighting this diversity of practices and drivers, which are generally not considered in the literature on the agri-environmental assessment of biogas, even though they could significantly affect the results of such assessments. Biogas sustainability research must better consider the dynamics of farming systems and farmers’ agency in on-farm biogas development.