Monday, November 5, 2007 - 10:55 AM
41-5
Perennials for a Biofuture Agriculture.
Industrial scale cellulosic ethanol production offers a promising renewable energy opportunity based on perennial plants as feedstock. The Upper Mississippi River Basin and especially the Great Plains was primarily an area of perennial grasslands before European settlers came to the continent. Thus, this region of the country has the climate and soil resources to produce perennial feedstocks for biofuels on a large scale. Additionally, much of the region also faces environmental challenges stemming from water runoff, soil erosion, nutrient loading, and degrading soils. Conversion of land from annual cropping to perennials could address some of these issues and provide many other environmental benefits. By producing biofuels in a conservation context and managing the landscape in sustainable ways, agriculture could meet water quality and conservation goals, improve biodiversity and wildlife habitat, enhance rural economic opportunities, and simultaneously contribute to national renewable energy goals. However, a critical question remains: How can large quantities of biomass be produced, harvested, collected, stored, and transported to make commercial conversion to energy uses cost effective? Additional challenges to producing perennials for biofuels include the need to balance their production with other demands on our land and water resources, including food and feed production. The sustainability of perennial biofuels production in the Upper Mississippi River Basin will be evaluated through energy, environmental, economic, and rural development analyses of perennial based biofuel systems, focusing on native and introduced grasses, and woody species. This analysis provides a scientific basis for policies that would enhance production of perennials as biofuel feedstocks.
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