Land embodied in Spain’s biomass trade and consumption (1900–2008): Historical changes, drivers and impacts

Population increase, the change in consumption patterns and a greater demand for biomaterials will continue to put pressure on the use of land over the coming decades, an increasingly scarce and degraded resource. Trade allows the environmental impact of consumption to be outsourced to third countries, although it also allows production to be located in more productive areas. The aim of this paper is to shed light on those processes by studying the land embodied in biomass trade and consumption in Spain with a long-term perspective. It seeks to analyse the main patterns of historic change, the drivers and impacts associated with the increase in demands for land associated with consumption and biomass trade. Spain has always been a net importer of land, especially since the 1960s, when trade experienced accelerated growth. In 2008, net imports stood at 6.5 Mha. Using decomposition analysis, we show that increases in yield could have absorbed the new demands derived from population increase; however, changes in consumption, particularly with regard to diet, have increased demand, requiring land usage to be displaced to third countries.