Willow biochar can help to sequestrate carbon. However, biomasses should not be grown on arable lands, as it would increase competition with food production and lead to sustainability issues such as increased food prices and decreased food security. The purpose of this study is to calculate the carbon footprint (CF) of willow biochar in Finland and assess the greenhouse gas compensation potential of marginal lands if they are utilized for willow biochar production. The CF of willow biochar is inadequately assessed together with marginal lands in the literature. A cradle-to-grave Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of willow biochar was conducted. The results were then applied to assess the total CF of marginal lands. It was found that the CF of willow biochar is −1875 kgCO₂eq t⁻¹ of dry biochar. Grown on marginal lands in Finland, willow biochar could compensate 7.7% of yearly agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. On buffer zones, willow biochar could also compensate some of the emissions depending on the zone size. The results of the study support current findings of biochar as a carbon negative product. The study also indicates that willow biochar produced in marginal lands can be used to compensate agricultural greenhouse gas emissions to some extent.

Greenhouses require large amounts of energy, which is the dominant factor making greenhouses more emission intensive than open-field cultivation. Alternative heating systems, such as combined heat and power (CHP), biogas, and industrial waste heat, are continuously being researched for reducing the environmental impacts of greenhouses. This paper assesses utilizing industrial waste heat and CO₂ enrichment in greenhouses as an example to propose “agro-industrial symbiosis” (AIS), to refer to a symbiotic co-operation between agricultural and industrial partners. The global warming potentials (GWPs) of greenhouse production using different heating systems are inadequately compared in the literature, which is the research gap addressed herein. Additionally, potential emission reductions of greenhouse production with industrial waste heat are yet to be assessed via lifecycle assessment (LCA). A comparative LCA of Finnish greenhouse tomato and cucumber production using various heating systems was conducted. Naturally, replacing fossil fuels with bioenergy and renewables significantly decreases the GWP. CHP systems result in decreased GWP only when using biogas as the energy source. Additionally, utilizing industrial waste heat and CO₂ resulted in a low GWP. These results are applicable worldwide to guide political decision-making and clean energy production in the horticultural sector.

To the burgeoning population, the tiger reserves of central India have been islanded by human habitation and are interconnected by narrow ‘wildlife corridors’ for migration of wildlife. Pench-Satpuda wildlife corridor is one such critical wildlife corridor that interconnects the Pench Tiger Reserve and Satpuda Tiger Reserve in central India. Land Use Land Cover (LULC) change of this corridor between April 2002 and April 2019 was analyzed using GIS and Remote Sensing Techniques. The study finds a systematic loss of 10,376.74 ha and 7406.24 ha of dense forests and open forests respectively, thus indicating large scale degradation of the area. The study found that a net area of 2054.60 of dense forests and open forests were diverted for agriculture indicating extensive encroachment of forest land. Water bodies have reduced by 25.41% indicating shrinkage in water bodies in the period under study. The presence of rich coal deposits in the wildlife corridor and operational coal mines in the near vicinity of the wildlife corridor is a matter of serious concern. This study attempts to highlight the importance of long-term sustenance of the Pench-Satpuda wildlife corridor for maintaining the genetic pool of wildlife in the landscape.

The forest-based bioproduct field has diversified into the chemical, medical, energy, nanoproduct, and construction material sectors. This paper argues that forest-based bioeconomy has kept the focus on conventional products and new bioproducts have primarily been developed as extensions to existing product portfolios due to a lock-in mechanism, i.e., a state where an economy gradually locks itself to a dominant market position due to technical interrelatedness, economies of scale, and quasi-irreversibility of investment. The study examines forest-based product transition in the context of lock-in mechanisms through narrative analysis over the past 170 years. A theoretical framework is formulated based on complex system studies and the economics of lock-in mechanisms. The relation between the lock-in mechanisms of the regime and product diversification is described for the forest-based bioeconomy in Finland. The study supports previous findings indicating that interactions occur between the lock-in mechanisms. Furthermore, lock-in mechanisms can have a neutral, adverse, or beneficial effect on product diversification. The paper extends knowledge about the role and functioning of lock-in mechanisms in changing market environments. Recent trends in network development and foreign investment, and their effects on industrial symbiosis and product diversification, is recommendable to consider in future research.

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) cycles are absolutely vital in maintaining sustainable food systems. Human activities disturb the natural balance of these cycles by creating enormous additional nutrient fluxes, causing eutrophication of waterways and pollution in land systems. To tackle this problem, sustainable nutrient management is required. This paper addresses sustainable nutrient management in two countries: The Netherlands and Finland. We adopt a critical perspective on resource politics, especially towards opportunistic policy strategies for the pollutant management of N and P. Two research questions are considered. First, what are the key systemic and policy failures that occurred in the N and P systems in the Netherlands and Finland between 1970 and 2015? And second, which lessons can be drawn when addressing the policy responses in the two countries to cope with these failures? The cases are analyzed within Weber and Rohracher’s framework that addresses “failures” preventing sustainable transitions. The results show that a number of failures occurred, besides market failures (over-exploitation of the commons, externalization of costs): lack of directionality, policy coordination, institutions, capabilities, infrastructure, demand articulation, and reflexivity. Policy responses in both countries resulted in ponderous policy frameworks that were adequate to tackle nutrient problems from the industrial sector and municipalities. However, both countries provided only a moderate response in terms of system-wide integrated policy frameworks to cope with sectoral-transcending issues. The agricultural use of N and P, in contrast to detergents, has not been subjected to strong regulatory measures.