Land Sparing Versus Land Sharing: How Might Biodiversity and Bioenergy Coexist?

Biodiversity has been threatened at a global scale by the increasing spatial extent of human land use, particularly agricultural production. Approaches to mitigate the impact of land use on biodiversity generally represent one of two opposing approaches: land sparing versus land sharing. In the land sparing approach, human land use is intensified so that the least amount of area is impacted. In the case of agriculture, including the production of biomass for bioenergy, heavy applications of fertilizers, pesticides, and the use of technologies such as genetically modified organisms can generate very high yields in very small but highly modified areas. In the land sparing approach, land management techniques that mimic natural systems are used to allow for productive areas that support high amounts of biodiversity. These methods include permaculture, agroforestry, shifting agriculture, and interspersion of crop areas with natural habitat features. I will review the experiences thus far with these two approaches in agriculture, and suggest lessons learned for biomass-based bioenergy systems that may be compatible with high biodiversity systems.