Bio-decomposition of invasive alien plant species:
A strategy
contributing to food and energy self-sustainability?
Background
Invasive alien plant species (IAPS)
occupy large land areas all over the world. In South African Western Cape
Province, Eucalyptus and Acacia species proliferate and suppress
natural Fynbos vegetation. To conserve
this natural ecosystem, SENFORE (Sovereign Energy, Food & Resource)
has developed an innovative value chain to utilize IAPS in multiple-purpose way
including the following processing steps:
IAPS -> Pre-treatment -> Anaerobic
digestion -> Alcoholic
fermentation
= Bioethanol = Mushrooms = Biogas
Currently this value chain is practically
applied and evaluated on the farm of SENFORE with the aim to conserve the local
ecosystem, produce food and energy self-sustainably and generate income.
Interested Master students, able to
think outside the box, are welcome to document, analyze and evaluate this innovative
value chain.
Aim of the
thesis
Documentation, analysis
and evaluation of the possibilities and impacts of the bio-utilization of IAPS on
food and energy self-sustainability.
Methods
- Description and documentation of the IAPS bio-utilization value chain including experimental field work such as wood harvesting and processing, mushroom production, anaerobic digestion, alcoholic fermentation
- Assessment and evaluation of the potential for food and energy self-sufficiency
Fieldwork
Field work will be carried out on
the experimental farm SENFORE for a period of about three months in the Western
Cape Province in South Africa.
Funding
Students are encouraged to apply to Eiselen
Stiftung (Fiat panis) for a field
research grant.
Supervision
·
M.Sc.
B. Winkler – Ph.D. Student at the Department for Biobased Products and Energy
Crops
·
Dr.
S. Lemke – Department Gender and Nutrition
·
Prof.
Dr. I. Lewandowski – Chair for Biobased Products and Energy Crops
Contact
Interested? Please contact AgroTropics Linkages (ATROLINK) for more
information:
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