Biodiversity Consequences of Biofuel Production

The biodiversity impact of biofuels will depend on the biofuel crop and the previous land use. Biofuels can be beneficial to biodiversity when appropriate crops are grown in suitable areas. Conversion of protected areas is usually explicitly prohibited by sustainability standards, but many of these areas of high biodiversity importance fall outside of the protected area network. The paper examines research that investigates the impact on biodiversity; specifically, how the impact is measured as being dependent on the biofuel feedstocks, previous land use and agricultural practices employed and well-managed plantations. However, the paper also provides insights on the evidence that reveals that the cultivation of many of the biofuel feedstocks has a negative impact on biodiversity as a result of habitat conversion and the ‘off-farm’ impacts of pollution and soil erosion.