Making Energy Crops More Earth Friendly
Monday, April 5, 2010 - 11:08
in Earth & Climate
A new review in the Agronomy Journal suggests that crop residue removal from corn, wheat, and grain sorghum may not be the most earth-friendly source of biomass for cellulosic ethanol production. The review found that removal of more than 50% of crop residue can have negative consequences on soil structure, reduce soil organic carbon sequestration, increase water erosion, and reduce nutrient cycling and crop production, particularly in erodible and sloping soils. While most research is focused on the conversion of cellulosic feeedstocks into ethanol and increasing production of biomass, the impacts of growing energy crops and the removal of crop residue on soil and environmental quality have received less attention. read more