Crop Residue Considerations for Sustainable Bioenergy Feedstock Supplies

Karlen, Douglas L.; Johnson, Jane M. F.

doi:10.1007/s12155-014-9407-y

Cited by 36 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…This feedstock is already in use at biorefineries in the USA, for example, in Iowa and Kansas. A good deal of work has been done to examine a sustainable stover removal rate that maintains SOC levels (Muth et al ., ; Karlen & Johnson, ). Nonetheless, some have raised concerns that when stover is removed from soils, SOC levels would be lower than if stover were not removed and that this difference between SOC levels with and without stover removal is essentially a carbon debt that biofuels derived from corn stover could incur (e.g., Liska et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of spatially dependent, modeled soil carbon emission factors on life‐cycle greenhouse gas emissions of corn and cellulosic ethanol

et al. 2016

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Converting land to biofuel feedstock production incurs changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) that can influence biofuel life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Estimates of these land use change (LUC) and life-cycle GHG emissions affect biofuels' attractiveness and eligibility under a number of renewable fuel policies in the USA and abroad. Modeling was used to refine the spatial resolution and depth extent of domestic estimates of SOC change for land (cropland, cropland pasture, grassland, and forest) conversion scenarios to biofuel crops (corn, corn stover, switchgrass, Miscanthus, poplar, and willow) at the county level in the USA. Results show that in most regions, conversions from cropland and cropland pasture to biofuel crops led to neutral or small levels of SOC sequestration, while conversion of grassland and forest generally caused net SOC loss. SOC change results were incorporated into the Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation (GREET) model to assess their influence on life-cycle GHG emissions of corn and cellulosic ethanol. Total LUC GHG emissions (g CO 2 eq MJ À1 ) were 2.1-9.3 for corn-, À0.7 for corn stover-, À3.4 to 12.9 for switchgrass-, and À20.1 to À6.2 for Miscanthus ethanol; these varied with SOC modeling assumptions applied. Extending the soil depth from 30 to 100 cm affected spatially explicit SOC change and overall LUC GHG emissions; however, the influence on LUC GHG emission estimates was less significant in corn and corn stover than cellulosic feedstocks. Total life-cycle GHG emissions (g CO 2 eq MJ À1 , 100 cm) were estimated to be 59-66 for corn ethanol, 14 for stover ethanol, 18-26 for switchgrass ethanol, and À7 to À0.6 for Miscanthus ethanol. The LUC GHG emissions associated with poplar-and willow-derived ethanol may be higher than that for switchgrass ethanol due to lower biomass yield.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of spatially dependent, modeled soil carbon emission factors on life‐cycle greenhouse gas emissions of corn and cellulosic ethanol

et al. 2016

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“…Despite these potential benefits, the environmental consequences of residue removal to support cellulosic ethanol production remain poorly understood. Concerns have been raised about impacts on crop productivity (Johnson et al, ; Karlen & Johnson, ), soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks (Liska et al, ), water quality (Acharya & Blanco‐Canqui, ; Gramig, Reeling, Cibin, & Chaubey, ), and soil GHG emissions (Jin et al, ; Qin et al, ). An important criterion of the Renewable Fuel Standard is that cellulosic biofuel production must reduce GHG intensity by 60% compared to gasoline.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil N₂O emissions as affected by long‐term residue removal and no‐till practices in continuous corn

et al. 2018

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The environmental consequences of residue removal practices to support cellulosic biofuel production remain poorly understood. In the U.S. Midwest, corn (Zea mays L.) stover removal combined with no‐till practices may increase or decrease soil N2O emissions by influencing soil moisture, temperature, and nutrient dynamics, yet empirical evidence from long‐term field experiments is inconsistent. We investigated the effects of residue management (residue retained or removed) and tillage (chisel‐till or no‐till) on cumulative soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, grain yield, and yield‐scaled N2O emissions in a 3‐year study initiated 10 years after treatment implementation in a long‐term, continuous corn experiment in Illinois, United States. Crop yields were affected by treatment in only one of three study years, with the combination of residue removal and no‐till reducing yields compared to both chisel‐till treatments. Cumulative N2O emissions, soil inorganic N concentrations, and yield‐scaled N2O emissions differed over the 3‐year period and were significantly affected by tillage, with no response to residue management. In 2 years, no‐till decreased cumulative N2O emissions and yield‐scaled N2O emissions by an average of 64% and 60%, respectively. Correlations between daily N2O fluxes and soil moisture, temperature, and inorganic N concentrations suggested that the relative importance of these variables changed depending on year and treatment. While more research across a range of sites and management practices is needed, our findings support previous studies which have challenged IPCC methodology assumptions regarding the effects of residue removal on N2O emissions. We conclude there is inherent difficulty in predicting the impacts of residue removal due to the complexity of soil processes underlying N2O emissions coupled with inter‐annual weather variability in this rainfed continuous corn system. Future efforts to evaluate the net greenhouse gas emissions of cellulosic biofuel production may benefit from accounting for this uncertainty.

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“…In order to achieve this target; biomass will have to be obtained from multiple feedstocks, including forestry resources, crop residues and specifically grown bioenergy crops. In terms of crop residues, the above‐ground material left in the field after harvest of corn grain, consisting of leaves, stalks and cobs, collectively referred to as corn stover, has been identified as a major potential contributor to the estimated billion tons of biomass needed to reach this objective …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Corn stover harvest increases herbicide movement to subsurface drains – Root Zone Water Quality Model simulations

Shipitalo

Malone

et al. 2015

Pest Management Science

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BACKGROUND: Crop residue removal for bioenergy production can alter soil hydrologic properties and the movement of agrochemicals to subsurface drains. The Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM), previously calibrated using measured flow and atrazine concentrations in drainage from a 0.4 ha chisel-tilled plot, was used to investigate effects of 50 and 100% corn (Zea mays L.) stover harvest and the accompanying reductions in soil crust hydraulic conductivity and total macroporosity on transport of atrazine, metolachlor and metolachlor oxanilic acid (OXA). RESULTS:The model accurately simulated field-measured metolachlor transport in drainage. A 3 year simulation indicated that 50% residue removal reduced subsurface drainage by 31% and increased atrazine and metolachlor transport in drainage 4-5-fold when surface crust conductivity and macroporosity were reduced by 25%. Based on its measured sorption coefficient, approximately twofold reductions in OXA losses were simulated with residue removal. CONCLUSION: The RZWQM indicated that, if corn stover harvest reduces crust conductivity and soil macroporosity, losses of atrazine and metolachlor in subsurface drainage will increase owing to reduced sorption related to more water moving through fewer macropores. Losses of the metolachlor degradation product OXA will decrease as a result of the more rapid movement of the parent compound into the soil. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

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Crop Residue Considerations for Sustainable Bioenergy Feedstock Supplies

Cited by 36 publications

References 16 publications

Influence of spatially dependent, modeled soil carbon emission factors on life‐cycle greenhouse gas emissions of corn and cellulosic ethanol

Influence of spatially dependent, modeled soil carbon emission factors on life‐cycle greenhouse gas emissions of corn and cellulosic ethanol

Soil N₂O emissions as affected by long‐term residue removal and no‐till practices in continuous corn

Corn stover harvest increases herbicide movement to subsurface drains – Root Zone Water Quality Model simulations

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Crop Residue Considerations for Sustainable Bioenergy Feedstock Supplies

Cited by 36 publications

References 16 publications

Influence of spatially dependent, modeled soil carbon emission factors on life‐cycle greenhouse gas emissions of corn and cellulosic ethanol

Influence of spatially dependent, modeled soil carbon emission factors on life‐cycle greenhouse gas emissions of corn and cellulosic ethanol

Soil N2O emissions as affected by long‐term residue removal and no‐till practices in continuous corn

Corn stover harvest increases herbicide movement to subsurface drains – Root Zone Water Quality Model simulations

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Soil N₂O emissions as affected by long‐term residue removal and no‐till practices in continuous corn