Backcast Land Change Model

 

Background

 

With funding from the US DoEd Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Needs (GAANN) program, Amelie Davis (PhD student of Pijanowski) has developed a GIS-based Biofuels Footprint Calculator (BFC).  This tool (see figures below) takes into consideration: average and annual (past 30 years) corn production per county, the location and spatial extent of transportation (roads and railways), local gasoline consumption rates, the spatial extent of livestock distributions for processing of DDGS (biofuel processing by-product), distribution of other land uses (e.g., urban), and location of surface/groundwater sources (e.g., 8 gallons of water are required to produce one gallon of ethanol).

 

 

Last updated March 6, 2011