Bioenergy - draft policy statement: consultation
We are seeking views on the priorities and principles that we have set out for the use of bioenergy, as well as views on the potential to scale up domestic production of biomass via planting of perennial energy crops.
Annex E – Macaulay Land Capability for Agriculture (LCA) classification
Land Capability Class 1 –3.1 - Land in these classes, often referred to as prime agricultural land, is capable of being used to produce a wide range of crops. The climate is favourable, slopes are no greater than 7 degrees and the soils are at least 45cm deep and are imperfectly drained at worst.
Land Capability Class 3.2 - 4.2 - Land in these classes is capable of being used to grow a moderate range of crops including cereals (primarily barley), forage crops and grass.
Land Capability Class 5.1 - 5.3 - Land in this class has the potential for use as improved grassland. A range of different limitation types, either operating singly or in combination, can restrict the land capability to this class.
Land Capability Class 6.1 - 7 - This land has very severe limitations. This land is either steep, very poorly drained, has very acid or shallow soils and occurs in wet, cool or cold climates zones. In many circumstances, these limitations operate together.
| Land Capability Class | Land Area (ha) | Degraded Peat (ha) | Potentially viable for woodland expansion (ha)[3] | Potentially viable for energy crops (ha) | Calorie Production (% of total Scottish calories produced) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2,800 | - | 3,200 | 2,400 | 0.5% |
| 2 | 142,100 | 200 | 150,300 | 135,000 | 16.7% |
| 3.1 | 368,900 | 7,900 | 385,700 | 282,900 | 36.2% |
| 3.2 | 545,200 | 9,800 | 572,500 | 262,000 | 30.6% |
| 4 | 617,100 | 34,200 | 625,300 | 131,500 | 10.1% |
| 5 | 905,600 | 313,700 | 796,300 | 175,400 | 3.2% |
| 6 | 2,610,100 | 1,043,700 | 931,300 | 40,700 | 2.0% |
| 7 | 142,900 | 51,800 | 25,100 | - | 0.1% |
Contact
Email: bioenergypolicy@gov.scot
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