The meaning of biomass in landscape management and energy planning: underutilised or overestimated?

Abstract

This paper examines the role of biomass in the landscape management of the Dutch river region WaalWeelde, where public and private actors collaborate on floodplain maintenance, nature conservation, and water safety. While biomass is often regarded as a cost in current practice, it holds potential as a renewable energy resource and as an ecosystem service to improve landscape management. The paper analyses biomass as a “matter of concern,” whose significance depends on organisational priorities, instruments, and regulations. Although its current value is limited, it could be enhanced through more active management and cooperation among stakeholders, which would also yield broader spatial benefits. The findings suggest that spatial planners can play a central role in fostering collaboration and overcoming institutional barriers, rigid legislation, and entrenched practices that hinder innovative use of biomass in sustainable landscape and energy planning.