The Environmental Impact of Biomass in Australian Agriculture

This essay examines the use of biomass in Australian agriculture and its impact on environmental health. It begins by defining biomass as a renewable energy source derived from organic waste, emphasizing its potential to revitalize rural economies and reduce pollution. The essay explores the benefits of biomass, such as its renewability, greenhouse gas reduction capabilities, and potential for waste management. It also highlights the disadvantages, including potential deforestation, land requirements, and the release of harmful gases during production. The paper references several sources to support the arguments, including the impact of forest biomass utilization on ecology and biodiversity. The essay also includes the importance of sustainable energy sources and provides a comprehensive overview of the environmental impacts of biomass energy in Australia.

Running head: USE OF BIOMASS IN AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURE AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS ON ENVIRONMENTAL
HEALTH
Use of biomass in Australian agriculture and its effectiveness on environmental health
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1USE OF BIOMASS IN AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURE AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
Biomass is a fuel that is obtained from different organic wastes, a renewable and
sustainable source of energy. It can be used to create electricity or other forms of power. It
has the ability to supply a large portion of Australia's energy needs that revitalizing the
economic condition of the rural areas of Australia. It helps in the increase in energy
independence as well as reducing pollution. Using biomass energy helps the rural people
become independent as they grow crops and tractors and residues to fuel cars as well as a
power-up to home (Oliveira et al. 2017). There are several benefits as well as disadvantages
of biomass. The paper will be an elaborate discussion about biomass and the how it can affect
the environment. The paper is based on the discussion- How biomass has an effect on the
environment?
Biomass is one of the renewable resources. It is used not only for producing
electricity but also for the production of heat. The products used for the producing of the
biomass energies is dead trees and wood chips, which produces effective biomass energy.
Biomass is also obtained from plants and animal wastes. The benefits of biomass energy are
mentioned below. Biomass is a renewable source of energy as it is easily available and is
renewable. As it is mostly obtained from dead plants and wastes of animals there will be an
adequate source of biomass energy. It helps in the reducing of greenhouse gas by reducing
the emission of carbon dioxide, which brings a change in the climatic change (Daddi, Testa,
Frey and Iraldo 2016). Hence, biomass helps in the management of the temperature by
reducing the carbon dioxide of the environment. The cleaner environment as the gases that
are obtained from biomass is cleaner and do not affect the environment adversely. With the
increase in the population, there is also an increase in the waste produced, which can be
easily managed with the help of biomass plants. It is an available source of energy as it
obtained from the waste of forests and can be utilized in every space. Moreover, it is going to

2USE OF BIOMASS IN AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURE AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
last for a lot of time as well as is economical and healthy for the environment, hence, it can
be stored for a long period without causing any harm to the environment.
Daddi (2017) mentioned that there are various advantages and disadvantages of biomass.
The following are some of the benefits of biomass energy. It is a renewable energy source
and does not pollute the environment by the emission of greenhouse gas (Oliveira et al.
2017). It reduces the reliance on fossil fuel, as fossil fuels are limited natural sources that are
going to exhaust if not conserved. Hence, the use of biomass energy will reduce the use of
fossil fuels, is cost-effective and people will not be completely dependent on the natural non-
renewable sources. It is carbon neutral. Biomass releases carbon neutral, which can be
absorbed within a plant in their life cycle. Hence, there is a very low release of carbon
dioxide to the environment. It is less expensive than fossil fuel. Fossil fuel extraction needs a
large number of human resources and equipment. Moreover, transportation also requires
expenses. Hence, there is a large amount of expenditure required for using fossil fuels
whereas there is a low expense in the using of biomass energy. It adds a revenue source for
producer. Waste that are produced can add revenue sources by channeling their wastes for
creating a profitable use in the form of biomass energy. It has less waste in landfills. Burning
of garbage leads to release of carbon dioxide in large quantity (Leung and Yang 2012). The
amount of waste dumped in landfills can reduce the percent by 60% to 90% and reduce the
price of landfill disposal.
Biomass is extensively used in the production of electricity. In producing biomass,
there is a requirement of wastes that are obtained from the forest; this can increase the
emission of carbon dioxide along with methane and other kinds of gases that may be harmful
to the environment (Lewandowska 2011). The gases that are released from the burning of
forest waste can produce carbon dioxide that is almost equal to the amount of carbon
emission by the burning of coal or other fossil fuels. The emission of particular products

3USE OF BIOMASS IN AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURE AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
release of nitrogen oxide, which increases the ground-level ozone pollution. The burning of
forest wastes also leads to the climatic changes, these can be caused by the increase in the
cutting down of the trees (Notarnicola et al. 2017). These can lead to an increase in global
warming gases and it has a diverse effect on human health as well. These can arise health
issues like asthma, headaches, nausea as well as other chronic diseases. These can also
hamper the health of various animals leading to sudden death or incurable diseases.
Biomass energy reduces the usage of fossil fuels decreasing the release of excessive
carbon dioxide in the environment. Its ability to reduce the use of fossil fuel helps in the
reduction of greenhouse gas (Nguyen et al. 2014). It reduces emission and enhances carbon
sequestration as crops or forest wastes on remove agricultural land accumulates carbon in the
soil. It reduces the reliance on fossil fuel, as the material required for making biomass is
easily available. It encourages the use of thermo-chemical conversion technology, which
reduces the use of fossil fuels (El Hanandeh 2015). Moreover, the development of the
biomass plant helps in the improvement of the agroforestry system and the develop of a small
and large industry of biomass power plants. It helps in the sustainability development of rural
as well as urban areas. It helps in the aiding of the agricultural economy and job opportunities
for rural people. The impact of forest biomass utilization has been found significant in
ecology and biodiversity (Collins et al. 2016). Forest residues are environmentally beneficial
as it has the potential to replace fossil fuels.
There are various uses of biomass such as cooking, generating electricity, pumping of water
in farms and other activities yet the use of biomass energy is very limited. Only 3% of
Australians use Biomass energy as there is various issue in using of biomass energy. It is not
as efficient as fossil fuels (Cary and Roberts 2011). Moreover, it has been found that often
people using biomass energy use fossil fuels along with forest waste to increase the efficiency
of the biomass energy. There have been several issues in the conservation of wildlife; often

4USE OF BIOMASS IN AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURE AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
various animals were burned along with forest wastes due to the inefficiency of the people
who managed biomass plants. The use of biomass plants also affects various birds.
Notarnicola (2017) argued to Daddi (2017) with the following are the disadvantages
of using biomass. It is not entirely clear. Though biomass is carbon neutral, the use of
animals and human waste releases a lot of methane gas that is very harmful to the
environment. It can pollute as much as the burning of wood, coal, or other natural materials.
It is not as efficient as fossil fuels. Compared to gasoline, ethanol is not as efficient.
Moreover, it has to be fortified with fossil fuel for increasing its efficiency. It can lead to
deforestation. As wood is one of the most available natural resources used to create biomass
energy, a large amount of products like wood can be burned for the production of the desired
amount of power (Waters 2013). This can lead to deforestation to increase the production of
biomass energy. It requires a lot of space for the biomass plant. The biomass plant requires a
large area as well as investment, which may not be available for everyone. Moreover, in
urban areas providing a large area of land is not possible.
Biomass is considered one of the most cost-effective sustainable energy. It is
renewable energy as the materials can be easily obtained from nature or the waste of animals
and humans. It is cost-effective; the materials are easily available and renewable. It helps in
the increase in the economy as well. However, it could be concluded that biomass, although it
is sustainable energy yet, has various effects on the components of the ecosystem. The
establishment of the biomass plant requires a lot of areas, which may not be available in
urban areas. The potential of biomass is running electricity or other activities is not high.
Hence, there is a requirement of fossil fuel in the running effective working of the biomass.
The emission caused when used along with fossil fuel is much higher comparatively. The
carbon dioxide released is almost equal to the burring of wood or coal. This has a diverse
effect on the environment affecting the animals and birds. Thus, it is not used extensively.

5USE OF BIOMASS IN AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURE AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
Moreover, it has been found that to benefit people start to destroy the environment such as
increased forest waste by encouraging deforestation.

6USE OF BIOMASS IN AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURE AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
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