Prospect of Growing Energy Crops on Biosolids-Amended Marginal Soils in Ukraine

Ukraine is one of the largest countries in eastern Europe and a substantial area (> 70%) of its land is under conventional agriculture. Current high-energy input conventional farming practices are responsible for degrading once-productive lands in Ukraine. Effects of these farming practices, together with climate change effects, are adversely affecting crop yields, soil health, water quality, and ecosystem services. While the share of renewable energy within the total energy demand is small, the prospect for producing alternate energy especially biofuels in Ukraine is growing rapidly due to the abundance of marginal lands and unutilized nutrient-enriched biosolids. To alleviate the energy crisis, domestically produced biofuels, by recycling biosolids on vast areas of marginal lands to raise commercial plantations of bioenergy crops, such as Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) Miscanthus x giganteus, and Poplar (Populus, L), could be a proactive energy independence approach in Ukraine.