GIS-based methodology for Chernobyl contaminated land management through biomass conversion into energy—a case study for Polessie, Ukraine

The district of Polessie was chosen to illustrate a methodology aiming to assess the type, extent and distribution of the existing and potential biomass resources in the rural areas contaminated by Chernobyl fallout in Ukraine. Three biomass systems were envisaged: forestry, short rotation coppice (SRC) and perennial grasses. The different sources of biomass were characterised in terms of productivity and radiocaesium content. Spatial information about the soil types, actual land use and radiocaesium deposition was collected and incorporated in a Geographic Information System. This spatial approach facilitated the integration and the processing of data as well as the design of spatial outputs (maps), which are key tools for the dynamic management of contaminated lands. In the short term, the stock of contaminated wood available from forests proved to be important in quantity but not rapidly renewable. Subsequently, energy crops like SRC established on former farmlands are relatively more productive than forests. In practice, the implementation of biomass to energy conversion systems also depends on the existing infrastructure, the current cost of energy supply and the local demand for energy. At present in Ukraine, the production of heat in wood-fired boilers is the most profitable.