Considerable energy crop production potentials in the Russian Far East

High-latitude regions are not traditionally considered for energy crop production due to unfavorable production conditions, e.g., low temperatures and short growing seasons. However, with increasing pressures on land use in warmer regions, rising global food demands, and climate change, shifting energy crop production to cold climate regions has become a desirable alternative. Increasing attempts have been made in recent decades to cultivate cold-tolerant energy crops in high latitudes. This study aims to assess the potential biomass and bioenergy productivities of willow, poplar, and miscanthus over the Russian Far East (RFE) federal district, with a yield-predicting model built on newly published data from high latitude. We evaluated the potentials of energy crop production and greenhouse gas mitigation in RFE under three land use scenarios. Our analysis reveals that the RFE has the potential to produce 1.3 × 10 9 Mg of biomass per year on 215 Mha of spare land with an average yield of 6 Mg ha −1 under the most extensive land conversion scenario, which can be converted to 24 EJ of bioenergy and thus lead to a net mitigation of 4.1 × 10 8 Mg CO 2 e greenhouse gas emissions. The productivity and mitigation potential remain substantial (78 % of the most extensive land conversion scenario) under the scenario that all the RFE's existing croplands and forests are preserved. Our assessment offers valuable insights into the potential of energy crop development in the RFE and other high-latitude regions globally, presenting a novel land-use solution for a low-carbon future. • The Russian Far East federal district has a high yield potential for energy crop production. • Willow can be the most widely cultivated energy crop for the Russian Far East. • The biomass and bioenergy production potential could be 1.3 × 10 9 Mg and 24 EJ, respectively. • The potential bioenergy could mitigate 4.1 × 10 8 Mg CO 2 e of greenhouse gas emissions. • The Russian Far East case implicates considerable potentials for other high-latitude regions.