The GHG implications of using abandoned agricultural lands to grow bioenergy crops in both the U.S. and Brazil will be studied. This will be achieved by 1) quantifying the availability of abandoned agricultural lands through geospatial analysis of existing land use data, 2) determining the potential biomass yields on these lands through spatial interpolation of field trial, crop census and remote sensing data, and 3) calculating the net GHG emissions from the life cycles of these bioenergy resources. This research has the potential to significantly advance knowledge and understanding of the climate change benefits that would come from using abandoned rather then currently used agricultural land for bioenergy crop production. Methodological advancements will result from coupling geospatial data collection, models and analysis with life cycle GHG assessments.
