Bioenergetic potential of agricultural soils in Slovakia

Knowledge of the energy potential of an agricultural soil and the potential production of biomass, together with economic parameters, can help pinpoint more effective sites for growing plants for traditional purposes and for fuel production. There is approximately 10 206 PJ of potential energy accumulated in Slovakia's agricultural soils. The lowest utilisation was found in the Cambisols soil type (0.7-1.8%) and the highest in Regosols (3.1-7.0%). The bioenergy production potential of agricultural soils in Slovakia was determined for chosen soil parameters according to the production of the plants grown. With regard to energy, the most productive are soils of the Chernozem type (25.1 MJ m−2) and Mollic Fluvisols (22.5 MJ m−2). Gleysols, Histosols, Solonetz and Leptosols (3.0-5.0 MJ m−2) produce the lowest bioenergy levels. The highest energy production precondition (22.2 MJ m−2) occurs in soils in the very warm, very dry lowland climatic region. According to the granularity, the most energy (14.0-15.0 MJ m−2) is produced by deep clayey soils (18.0 MJ m−2) in a slope to 3° (18.3 MJ m−2) that are not or sporadically gravelly (19.2 MJ m−2). The highest energy yields can be expected from the biomass of plants grown in arable land (approximately 11.0 MJ m−2). Regarding the efficiency of economic and financial inputs, plants growing in Chernozem, Mollic Fluvisols, Fluvisols and Haplic Luvisols soil types in very warm, very dry, lowlands to warm, very dry, basin-like, continental climatic regions appear to be profitable in slopes to 7°, with no or only a sporadic gravel content.