Assessing the impact of within crop heterogeneity (‘patchiness’) in young <i>Miscanthus</i> × <i>giganteus</i> fields on economic feasibility and soil carbon sequestration

Zimmermann, Jesko; Styles, David; Hastings, Astley; Dauber, Jens; Jones, Michael B.

doi:10.1111/gcbb.12084

Cited by 29 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 33 publications

(56 reference statements)

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“…Plots within each block were at least 5 m from each other and both controls and bare plots were marked out to be 1.6 m diameter circles (2 m 2 ). At the time of creating these plots, the Miscanthus was still spreading to fill in gaps between plants; patchiness is common for Miscanthus stands, with Zimmermann et al, [46] reporting the average gap size as 3.67 m 2 in three or four year old commercial plantations. Therefore, no plant removal was necessary to establish all plots between plants, and consequently bare plots contained no established (i.e.…”

Section: Experimental Design and Environmental Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon Inputs from Miscanthus Displace Older Soil Organic Carbon Without Inducing Priming

et al. 2016

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The carbon (C) dynamics of a bioenergy system are key to correctly defining its viability as a sustainable alternative to conventional fossil fuel energy sources. Recent studies have quantified the greenhouse gas mitigation potential of these bioenergy crops, often concluding that C sequestration in soils plays a primary role in offsetting emissions through energy generation. Miscanthus is a particularly promising bioenergy crop and research has shown that soil C stocks can increase by more than 2 t C ha −1 yr −1 . In this study, we use a stable isotope ( 13 C) technique to trace the inputs and outputs from soils below a commercial Miscanthus plantation in Lincolnshire, UK, over the first 7 years of growth after conversion from a conventional arable crop. Results suggest that an unchanging total topsoil (0-30 cm) C stock is caused by Miscanthus additions displacing older soil organic matter. Further, using a comparison between bare soil plots (no new Miscanthus inputs) and undisturbed Miscanthus controls, soil respiration was seen to be unaffected through priming by fresh inputs or rhizosphere. The temperature sensitivity of old soil C was also seen to be very similar with and without the presence of live root biomass. Total soil respiration from control plots was dominated by Miscanthus-derived emissions with autotrophic respiration alone accounting for ∼50 % of CO 2 . Although total soil C stocks did not change significantly over time, the Miscanthus-derived soil C accumulated at a rate of 860 kg C ha −1 yr −1 over the top 30 cm. Ultimately, the results from this study indicate that soil C stocks below Miscanthus plantations do not necessarily increase during the first 7 years.

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Section: Experimental Design and Environmental Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon Inputs from Miscanthus Displace Older Soil Organic Carbon Without Inducing Priming

et al. 2016

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“…Zimmermann et al . () indeed mentioned that field heterogeneity could be due to problems with the planting technique, bad rhizome quality, poor overwintering or small‐scale variations in soil quality. We observed as well that poor tillering occurring after rhizome emergence during the establishment year could be an important source of heterogeneity in commercial fields.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of young Miscanthus × giganteus yield variability: a survey of farmers’ fields in east central France

et al. 2015

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Miscanthus 9 giganteus is often regarded as one of the most promising crops to produce bioenergy because it is renowned for its high biomass yields, combined with low input requirements. However, its productivity has been mainly studied in experimental conditions. Our study aimed at characterizing and explaining young M. giganteus yield variability on a farmers' field network located in the supply area of a cooperative society in east central France. It included the first three growth years of the crop. We defined and calculated a set of indicators of limiting factors that could be involved in yield variations and used the mixed-model method to identify those explaining most of the yield variation. Commercial yields averaged 8.1 and 12.8 t DM ha À1 for the second and third growth year, respectively. However, these mean results concealed a high variability, ranging from 3 to 19 t DM ha À1 . Commercial yields, measured on whole fields, were on average 20% lower than plot yields, measured on a small area (two plots of 25 m 2 ). Yields were found to be much more related to shoot density than to shoot mass, and particularly to the shoot density established at the end of the planting year. We highlighted that planting success was decisive and was built during the whole plantation year. Fields with the lowest yields also had the highest weed cover, which was influenced by the distance between the field and the farmhouse, the preceding crop and the soil type. Our findings show that growing young M. giganteus on farmers' fields involves limiting factors different from those commonly reported in the literature for experimental conditions and they could be useful to assess the economic and environmental impacts of growing M. giganteus on farmers' fields. They could also stimulate the discussion about growing bioenergy crops on marginal lands.

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“…As Miscanthus is a perennial crop, this lifespan differs greatly from those of traditional crops which are cultivated from year to year providing the farmer with the opportunity to reallocate the land frequently to different crops. The long commitment of land to one single plant does not only limit the entrepreneurial freedom of the farmer which is seen as a major barrier to Miscanthus adoption by 7 of the reviewed papers [23,42,48,54,[56][57][58]. It also implies the fact that Miscanthus needs a minimum period to break even with the initial investment costs.…”

Section: Lifespanmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Costs for harvest vary due to different assumptions about processing methods such as chipping or mowing and baling [30,72] and because of an inconsistency in the definition and calculation of harvest cost. While in some studies harvesting includes transport and/ or storage [20,57,72] others only refer to the cost of cutting and baling or chipping [20,48,56]. Another barrier to comparability is the calculation of harvest costs whether on a per ha basis [20] or on a cost per weight basis [71].…”

Section: Annual Costs 4221 Harvestmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In detail, the subsidization ranges between a refund of 40-50% [52,50] of the establishment costs or, alternatively an establishment subsidy of 938-1072 €/ha [48,49]. A similar program is offered in Ireland, called "Bioenergy Scheme", offering a refund of 50% of establishment costs or up to 1295-1450 €/ha [57,54]. Additionally there is an EU wide energy crop premium available of 45 €/ha per year [66,68,23].…”

Section: Subsidiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Economic evaluation of Miscanthus production – A review

Witzel

Finger

2016

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

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a b s t r a c tThis paper reviews the peer-reviewed literature dealing with the economics of Miscanthus cultivation, to identify factors influencing the adoption of Miscanthus and to reveal shortcomings in research. In total, 51 studies have been identified for this review. The majority of these publications are recent (i.e. the majority is published after 2009) and concern case studies in Europe (particularly the UK and Ireland) and North America. This review reveals that the economic viability of Miscanthus depends on largely uncertain assumptions especially concerning yields (10-48 t dry matter per ha) and prices (48-134 €/t dry matter) but also concerning the lifespan (10-20 years) and different cost items. A lack of established markets, high establishment costs and uncertainties, arising to a large extent from the long term commitment, are identified as major barriers to Miscanthus adoption. In addition, the level of support for Miscanthus production (e.g. via subsidies) is identified as crucial for Miscanthus profitability, but is found to be highly heterogeneous across countries. Next to diversity in agronomic and economic assumptions, also the assessment criteria and research techniques used to investigate the profitability of Miscanthus differ widely. While the net present value criterion was most frequently used, we identify a lack of approaches that account for risks and uncertainties, which seem to potentially play a critical role in the uptake of Miscanthus by farmers.

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Assessing the impact of within crop heterogeneity (‘patchiness’) in young Miscanthus × giganteus fields on economic feasibility and soil carbon sequestration

Cited by 29 publications

References 33 publications

Carbon Inputs from Miscanthus Displace Older Soil Organic Carbon Without Inducing Priming

Carbon Inputs from Miscanthus Displace Older Soil Organic Carbon Without Inducing Priming

Analysis of young Miscanthus × giganteus yield variability: a survey of farmers’ fields in east central France

Economic evaluation of Miscanthus production – A review

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