TITLE:
Land Resource Areas and Spatial Analysis of Potential Location of Bioenergy Crops Production in Mississippi
AUTHORS:
Yaw Adu Twumasi, Edmund Chukwudi Merem, John Bosco Namwamba, Jacob Banafo Annan, Tomas Ayala-Silva, Abena Boatemaa Asare-Ansah, Zhu Hua Ning, Judith Oppong, Priscilla Mawuena Loh, Diana Botchway Frimpong, Faustina Owusu, Janeth Ernest Mjema, Ronald Okwemba, Olipa Simon Mwakimi, Brilliant Mareme Petja, Caroline Olufunke Akinrinwoye, Joyce McClendon-Peralta, Hermeshia Jonee Mosby
KEYWORDS:
Land Resource Areas, GIS, Bioenergy Crops, Descriptive Statistics, Mississippi
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Sustainable Bioenergy Systems,
Vol.11 No.4,
October
18,
2021
ABSTRACT: Mississippi State is renowned for its land resource
areas (LRA) and production of bioenergy crops which generate both agricultural
and economic benefits. Agricultural commodities play a key role in economic
growth, therefore the ability to produce more would enhance development. This
paper offers an analysis of the production of bioenergy crops in Mississippi.
Relative measures, time series graphs and descriptive statistics coupled with
geographic information systems (GIS) mapping using ArcMap were employed to generate
the outcome of this research. The outcome of the statistical analysis indicated
that corn and soybeans were the most produced crops in Agricultural Districts
10 and 40. These districts produced more bioenergy crops than the other
districts. GIS mapping results also showed that the potential area for bioenergy
crops is in zone 131 of the Mississippi Land Resource Area (MLRA). This zone
has an absolute advantage in the production of these crops which includes the
diversity of biomass production such as corn, cotton, soybeans, wheat, rice,
barley, grain sorghum, canola, camelina, algae, hardwoods, and softwood. The
paper recommends a constant GIS mapping and land management systems for each
agricultural district in Mississippi to enable researchers and farmers to
determine the factors which contribute towards the increasing and decreasing
trends in the production of the bioenergy crops.