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24
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Introduction
Having worked on the potential future water demand for irrigation of biomass plantations (e.g. for BECCS) and the resulting water stress in my PhD, I am currently focusing on the global risk of biosphere degradation and metrics to quantify this.
Current institution
Publications
Publications (24)
Six of nine planetary boundaries are currently transgressed, many related to human land use. Conversion of sizeable land areas to biomass plantations for Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) – often assumed in climate mitigation scenarios to meet the Paris Agreement – may exert additional pressure on terrestrial planetary boundaries. U...
Global statistical irrigation modeling relies on geospatial data and traditionally adopts a discrete global grid based on longitude–latitude reference. However, this system introduces area distortion, which may lead to biased results. We propose using the ISEA3H geodesic grid based on hexagonal cells, enabling efficient and distortion-free represen...
Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) by symbiotic and free-living bacteria is an important source of plant-available nitrogen (N) in terrestrial ecosystems supporting carbon (C) sequestration and food production worldwide. Dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs) are frequently used to assess the N and C cycles under dynamic land use and climate. BNF...
Abstract
There is a dearth of assessments of temporal trajectories and spatial patterns of planetary boundaries (PBs – precautionary limits to human interference with nine critical Earth system processes). To facilitate such studies by a generic computation tool, we have developed the R-based, open-source software package ‘boundaries’. It allows t...
Ecosystems are under multiple stressors, and impacts can be measured with multiple variables. Humans have altered mass and energy flows of basically all ecosystems on Earth towards dangerous levels. However, integrating the data and synthesizing conclusions is becoming more and more complicated. Here we present an automated and easy-to-apply R pack...
Non-Technical Summary
Human societies are changing where and how water flows through the atmosphere. However, these changes in the atmospheric water cycle are not being managed, nor is there any real sense of where these changes might be headed in the future. Thus, we develop a new economic theory of atmospheric water management, and explore this t...
We present a new approach to model biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) in the Lund Potsdam Jena managed Land dynamic global vegetation model. While in the original approach BNF depended on actual evapotranspiration, the new approach considers soil water content and temperature, the nitrogen (N) deficit and carbon (C) costs. The new approach improved...
Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) can help stabilize the climate by extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while producing renewable energy. However, biomass availability would limit BECCS potential, and biomass cropland expansion may threaten biodiversity, food security, and water
supply. Replacing land-intensive foods can h...
Precipitation is essential for food production in Sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 80 % of agriculture is rainfed. Although ~40 % of precipitation in certain regions is recycled moisture from Africa's tropical rainforest, there needs to be more knowledge about how this moisture supports the continent's agriculture. In this study, we quantify all...
Global statistical irrigation modeling relies on geospatial data and traditionally adopts a discrete global grid based on longitude-latitude reference. However, this system introduces area distortion, which may lead to biased results. We propose using the ISEA3H geodesic grid based on hexagonal cells, enabling efficient and distortion-free represen...
Ecosystems are under multiple stressors and impacts can be measured with multiple variables. Humans have altered mass and energy flows of basically all ecosystems on Earth towards dangerous levels. However, integrating the data and synthesizing conclusions is becoming more and more complicated. Here we present an automated and easy to apply R packa...
To satisfy the increasing global demand for agricultural products, the expansion of irrigation is an important intensification measure. At the same time, unsustainable water abstractions and cropland expansion pose a threat to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Irrigation potentials are influenced by local biophysical irrigation water availabi...
Humanity is modifying the atmospheric water cycle, via land use, climate change, air pollution, and weather modification. Given the implications of this, we present a theoretical framing of atmospheric water as an economic good. Historically, atmospheric water was tacitly considered a ‘public good’ since it was neither actively consumed (rival) nor...
Non-technical summaryGlobally, freshwater systems are degrading due to excessive water withdrawals. We estimate that if rivers’ environmental flow requirements were protected, the associated decrease in irrigation water availability would reduce global yields by ~5%. As one option to increase food supply within limited water resources, we show that...
This thesis provides a first systematic assessment of 21st century global irrigation water demands for bioenergy production, for which the current body of literature projects a range of 128.4–9000 km3 yr−1. The numbers strongly depend on the parameters and assumptions chosen as well as methodologies and models applied. Systematic simulations for th...
Many scenarios of future climate evolution and its anthropogenic drivers include considerable amounts of bioenergy as a fuel source, as a negative emission technology, and for providing electricity. The associated freshwater abstractions for irrigation of dedicated biomass plantations might be substantial and therefore potentially increase water li...
Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is considered an important negative emissions (NEs) technology, but might involve substantial irrigation on biomass plantations. Potential water stress resulting from the additional withdrawals warrants evaluation against the avoided climate change impact. Here we quantitatively assess potential sid...
Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is considered an important negative emissions (NEs) technology, but might involve substantial irrigation on biomass plantations. Potential water stress resulting from the additional withdrawals for irrigation warrants evaluation against the avoided climate change impact. Here we quantitatively asses...
Many scenarios of future climate evolution and its anthropogenic drivers include considerable amounts of bioenergy as fuel source, negative emission technology, or for final energy production. The associated freshwater requirements for irrigation of dedicated biomass plantations might be substantial and therefore potentially increase water limitati...
Limiting mean global warming to well below 2 °C will probably require substantial negative emissions (NEs) within the 21st century. To achieve these, bioenergy plantations with subsequent carbon capture and storage (BECCS) may have to be implemented at a large scale. Irrigation of these plantations might be necessary to increase the yield, which is...
