Ecosystem approach to ensure biorenewables sustainability and rational use of natural resources

Agroecosystems are essential to produce food and fiber and, if well managed, they can also provide other important services and goods. LNBR assesses biorenewable production chains that can leverage the provision of ecosystem services from agroecosystems such as climate change mitigation, recycling and maintenance of water quality. These can also promote the reduction of common dis-services, such as deforestation, loss of nutrients, greenhouse gas emissions, among others.

LNBR has been developing and adapting tools and models to quantify and to assess synergies and trade-offs between ecosystems services and dis-services related to the biorenewable production chains. The goal is to develop a georeferenced sustainability assessment platform which could be customized and applied in the assessment of environmental and economic performance for diverse bioproducts and applicable in different geographical scales. This platform will allow reliable quantification and assessment of ecosystem services and dis-services which are essential to assure the sustainable production of biorenewables.