from conclusions: "The implications of biofuel production and feedstock choices for land use and biodiversity are important, ranging from effects on individual fields to watersheds (which can be as big as the 48% of the US that drains into the Gulf of Mexico) to potentially the entire world. .... There are ways in which biofuels can be developed to enhance their coexistence with biodiversity. Landscape heterogeneity can be enhanced by interspersion of land uses, which is easier around production facilities with smaller feedstock demands. The development of biofuel feedstocks that yield high net energy returns with minimal carbon debts, or that do not require land for production, should be encouraged. Competing land uses (including food, fiber, and biofuel production, biodiversity protection, and urban and suburban expansion) should be subjected to comprehensive analysis and planning, so that incentives can be directed where they will do the most good. Finally, the opportunity to design bioenergy feedstock systems to optimize socioeconomic and ecologic benefits must build from the growing scientific understanding of effects of bioenergy choices at different scales, quantitative metrics, and ways to deal with environmental tradeoffs.
