Determinants of Landowners’ Willingness to Participate in Bioenergy Crop Production: A Case Study from Northern Kentucky
Bioenergy crops are considered as potential biomass feedstocks to support the bioenergy industry in the southern US. Even though there are suitable areas to grow bioenergy crops, commercial scale production of bioenergy crops has not been established to meet the increasing energy demand. Establishin...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Forests |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/11/10/1052 |
| _version_ | 1797552284065857536 |
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| author | Sandhya Nepal Liem T. Tran Donald G. Hodges |
| author_facet | Sandhya Nepal Liem T. Tran Donald G. Hodges |
| author_sort | Sandhya Nepal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Bioenergy crops are considered as potential biomass feedstocks to support the bioenergy industry in the southern US. Even though there are suitable areas to grow bioenergy crops, commercial scale production of bioenergy crops has not been established to meet the increasing energy demand. Establishing bioenergy crops in the region requires landowners’ participation and it is crucial to understand whether they intend to promote bioenergy crop production. This study evaluated landowners’ perception of bioenergy and their willingness to supply lands for bioenergy crops in northern Kentucky. A questionnaire survey of randomly selected landowners was administered in four selected counties. Results indicated that landowners’ land use decisions for bioenergy crop production were based on their current land management practices, socio-economic and environmental factors. Overall, there was a low willingness of landowners to participate in bioenergy crop production. Those who were interested indicated that a higher biomass price would be required to promote bioenergy crops on their land. This information could be useful to plan for policies that provide economic incentives to landowners for large-scale production of bioenergy crops in the study area and beyond. Further, results showed how landowners’ opinion on bioenergy affected their preferences for land use decisions. Younger landowners with positive attitude towards bioenergy were more willing to promote bioenergy crops. This information could be useful to develop outreach programs for landowners to encourage them to promote bioenergy crops in the study area. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:57:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6835265f7bfe444e92a8d6ddf9141a74 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:57:50Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-6835265f7bfe444e92a8d6ddf9141a742023-11-20T15:30:54ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072020-09-011110105210.3390/f11101052Determinants of Landowners’ Willingness to Participate in Bioenergy Crop Production: A Case Study from Northern KentuckySandhya Nepal0Liem T. Tran1Donald G. Hodges2Department of Geography, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37865, USADepartment of Geography, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37865, USADepartment of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37865, USABioenergy crops are considered as potential biomass feedstocks to support the bioenergy industry in the southern US. Even though there are suitable areas to grow bioenergy crops, commercial scale production of bioenergy crops has not been established to meet the increasing energy demand. Establishing bioenergy crops in the region requires landowners’ participation and it is crucial to understand whether they intend to promote bioenergy crop production. This study evaluated landowners’ perception of bioenergy and their willingness to supply lands for bioenergy crops in northern Kentucky. A questionnaire survey of randomly selected landowners was administered in four selected counties. Results indicated that landowners’ land use decisions for bioenergy crop production were based on their current land management practices, socio-economic and environmental factors. Overall, there was a low willingness of landowners to participate in bioenergy crop production. Those who were interested indicated that a higher biomass price would be required to promote bioenergy crops on their land. This information could be useful to plan for policies that provide economic incentives to landowners for large-scale production of bioenergy crops in the study area and beyond. Further, results showed how landowners’ opinion on bioenergy affected their preferences for land use decisions. Younger landowners with positive attitude towards bioenergy were more willing to promote bioenergy crops. This information could be useful to develop outreach programs for landowners to encourage them to promote bioenergy crops in the study area.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/11/10/1052bioenergyperceptionwillingnesslandownersland useKentucky |
| spellingShingle | Sandhya Nepal Liem T. Tran Donald G. Hodges Determinants of Landowners’ Willingness to Participate in Bioenergy Crop Production: A Case Study from Northern Kentucky Forests bioenergy perception willingness landowners land use Kentucky |
| title | Determinants of Landowners’ Willingness to Participate in Bioenergy Crop Production: A Case Study from Northern Kentucky |
| title_full | Determinants of Landowners’ Willingness to Participate in Bioenergy Crop Production: A Case Study from Northern Kentucky |
| title_fullStr | Determinants of Landowners’ Willingness to Participate in Bioenergy Crop Production: A Case Study from Northern Kentucky |
| title_full_unstemmed | Determinants of Landowners’ Willingness to Participate in Bioenergy Crop Production: A Case Study from Northern Kentucky |
| title_short | Determinants of Landowners’ Willingness to Participate in Bioenergy Crop Production: A Case Study from Northern Kentucky |
| title_sort | determinants of landowners willingness to participate in bioenergy crop production a case study from northern kentucky |
| topic | bioenergy perception willingness landowners land use Kentucky |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/11/10/1052 |
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