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Rejuvenate – Crop Based Systems on Marginal Degraded Areas-Demonstrations Y. Andersson-Sköld, P. Bardos, P. Björkman, Gh. Crutu, A. Enell, P-D. Georgescu, K. Hemström, M. Hoppenbrouwers, M. Polland, P. Suer, T. Track, B. Vanheusden, M. Wagelmans Aim and Background Rejuvenate II is a European project (SNOWMAN) developing approaches for using marginal land, in particular brownfields, for biomass production. Rejuvenate Risk management There is an increasing interested in of biomass for biofuel production. However, the use of land to produce such biomass has raised a range of concerns such as about the sacrifice of agricultural land and nature conservation issues. In parallel, brownfields exists for which there is no economic drive for restoration to conventional functional re-use and/or no realistic prospect for ”hard” re-use. The combination of biomass cultivation and soil rehabilitation could provide leverage to bring such economical marginal land back into use. Recycling Renewables Materials and Methods The project is a desktop study followed up by demonstration scale case studies in Romania and Sweden: • Copsa Mica - Micasasa (Central Romania, spontaneous vegetation and agricultural land 0.5 + 0.5 ha, heavy metals) – Rape, Sunflower, Maize, various wild grasses. • Vivsta varv (NW Sweden, previous shipyard with timber storage, 2 ha, dioxins, heavy metals, with and without sewage sludge) - Salix Klara • Utansjöbruk(NW Sweden, previous ash and wood sludge storage, present use has been timber storage, 0.5 ha, heavy metals, with and without wood sludge). Salix Klara • Kallinge bruk (South Sweden, landfill at previous multi industrial site, heavy metals, 0.2 ha, triad analysis, no sludge). Salix Inger Results A detailed review of benefits and impacts carried out in a feasibility study (Rejuvenate I) found that from a generic perspective biomass on marginal contaminated land can have significant sustainability benefits, depending on the followed approach. From a specific site perspective there are, however, several aspects that need to be considered to fulfil the requirements of sustainability. To evaluate sustainability therefore a decision support tool (DST) consisting of a set of model procedures has been developed in Rejuvenate I. Ongoing work The DST is at present being evaluated and undergoing a SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat) analysis. The DST will be updated based on the forthcoming results including a review of the legal framework at a European scale, environmental and risk assessments including Triad analysis of a pilot site and final results from all demonstration sites. The preliminary results of the SWOT analysis indicate that the DST is a useful and sound base for the choice of crops at brownfields. Read more about Rejuventae I: www.snowman-era.net/pages.science.html 1 www.snowman.era.net/downloads/REJUVENATE_final_report.pdf For Rape Corn Sunflower 0.18 ha 0.15 ha 0.15 ha Various wild grasses 0.5 ha Stage I: Crop type selection Discussion and conclusion In principle biomass on marginal contaminated land has a number of sustainable development benefits, such as: Stage II: Site management • • • • • Stage III: Valuation of Approach reducing the carbon intensity of land remediation, generating renewable energy, broader community benefits such as landscape management, potential wider environmental benefits, for example on soil func tionality and biodiversity economic benefits such as revenue generation or at least offset- ting remediation costs. Stage IV: Project Risk The DST is a useful process structure to evaluate risks, environmental, legal and economical impacts from a specific site perspective. Contact: [email protected] Ecological Risk assessment Goal As part of the demonstration project at Kallinge bruk (Sweden) an ecological risk assessment has been performed in order to assess current and future ecological risks at the site. Pilot Kallinge bruk Kallinge bruk is a former steel mill at which in the past slag has been deposited on a relatively large area. Contaminated slag lumps (metals) are present in different sizes, mainly just underneath the soil surface. Slag has been covered by a shallow layer of soil (sand and gravel). The site is already covered with vegetation, mainly grasses. The topsoil of the pilot location is polluted with heavy metals, mainly zinc, lead, chromium and nickel. In July 2010 the pilot location (450 m2) has been planted with 1,200 willow plants (Salix). The Triad The Triad is a fully validated method to assess ecological risks at a polluted site and reduces the uncertainties of risk assessment based on chemical analyses. For the assessment of ecological risks and the integration of all lines of evidence the RIVM method is used. Triad model The Triad consists of three lines of evidence: 1. Environmental chemistry: analyses of pollutants and the bioavailable fraction in soil, sediment and/or water, sometimes extended with analyses of bioaccumulation in organisms. 2. Toxicity: bioassays and biomarkers for toxicity testing using model organisms in the laboratory. 3. Ecology: field observations of vegetation, macro, meio and/or micro fauna. A number of six samples was used for Triad analyses. Samples were taken in a gradient op heavy metal pollution from clean (reference sample) to the highest pollution grade (in results from previous soil researches). Preliminary results In only two of six samples one of the heavy metals was measurable available, zinc in one and lead in another. No negative effects were measured in the Microtox tests nor the nematode analyses. From the integration of results no ecological risk was found and all lines of evidence pointed in the same direction. 1 Mesman M.,A. Schouten, M. Rutgers, E. Dirven-van Breemen. guideline Triad. Site-specific ecological risk assessment in the Remediation Criterion. RIVM 711701068, 2007.