MAGIC Research Work Now Available Online

European Union (EU)Farming/Growing Feedstock Feedstocks Field/Orchard/Plantation Crops/Residues Infrastructure Opinions Policy R & D Focus Sustainability

December 05, 2019

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Insights about the most promising industrial crops grown on marginal land. MAGIC aims to promote the sustainable development of resource-efficient and economically profitable industrial crops grown on marginal lands, considering that industrial crops can provide valuable resources for high added value products and bioenergy. To achieve that, an up-to-date database of existing resource-efficient industrial crops has been developed with information on their agronomic characteristics, input requirements, yield performance and quality traits for end-use applications. Initial research work has been completed in the first project period and is now available online.

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Industrial crops can provide abundant renewable biomass feedstocks for the production of high added-value bio-based commodities (i.e. bio-plastics, bio-lubricants, bio-chemicals, pharmaceuticals, bio-composites, etc.) and bioenergy. They can be broadly categorised as oil, lignocellulosic, carbohydrate or specialty crops. Most of them are multipurpose crops offering the opportunity to follow a cascade bio refinery concept to produce a number of value added bio products and bioenergy, thus feeding the bio based economy.

In recent years, a debate has emerged regarding food security and land use for bioenergy/industrial non-food crops. Cultivating industrial crops on marginal land unsuitable for food production is consistently proposed as a viable alternative to minimize land-use competition for food production, and its adverse effects (direct or indirect) on food security, land based GHG emissions and biodiversity loss.

Several studies agree on the existence of a considerable extension of land in Europe deemed less favourable for conventional agriculture. This land has been either abandoned because of its productivity, or it is used as grassland. MAGIC is based on the premise that cultivation of selected industrial crops on areas facing natural constraints (e.g. extreme climatic conditions, low soil productivity, steep slope, etc.) can i) ensure the production of resource-efficient feedstocks, with low indirect land-use change (iLUC), for a growing bio-based industry, and ii) increase farmers’ incomes through access to new markets and the revalorization of marginal land. It has been estimated that as many as 2.5 million potentially contaminated sites exist across Europe, whose management cost (81% only for remediation) is about € 6.5 billion per year. In MAGIC, contaminated and degraded soils will also be included as it is well documented that the proportion of these land-types is increasing due to anthropogenic activities. Contaminated soils cannot be used for food or feed production for sanitary reasons and thus provide great potential for the production of biomass for material or energy use.

Overall objective
In this context, MAGIC aims towards the development of resource-efficient and economically profitable industrial crops to be grown on marginal land. In the long term, this strategy will foster the sustainable development of the EU bio-based economy and will contribute to achieving EU energy and climate targets.

How to Generate Yield in the First Year—A Three-Year Experiment on Miscanthus (Miscanthus [1] giganteus (Greef et Deuter)) Establishment under Maize (Zea mays L.)

Miscanthus is one of the most promising perennial herbaceous industrial crops worldwide mainly due to its high resource-use efficiency and biomass yield. However, the extent of miscanthus cultivation across Europe is still lagging far behind its real potential. Major limiting factors are high initial costs and low biomass yields in the crop establishment period, especially the first year. This study explores the possibility of establishing miscanthus under maize to generate yields from the first year of cultivation onwards.
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