Environmental and economic analysis of using SWAT to simulate the effects of switchgrass production on water quality in an impaired watershed

Zhou, Xiaoxue; Clark, Christopher D.; Nair, Sujithkumar Surendran; Hawkins, Shawn A.; Lambert, Dayton M.

doi:10.1016/j.agwat.2015.06.018

Cited by 24 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Nonetheless, few studies to date have evaluated the value proposition of reducing nutrient loss from cropland by integrating switchgrass riparian buffers with bioenergy feedstock production, especially in the LMRB. Although some studies have conducted economic analysis of switchgrass as a crop for nutrient abatement purposes, establishing switchgrass as a multifunctional riparian buffer can be quite different . For instance, understanding the economic benefits of growing biomass in riparian buffers requires a detailed analysis of factors that affect costs (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recognizing economic value in multifunctional buffers in the lower Mississippi river basin

Hui

2018

Biofuels Bioprod Bioref

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Integrating conservation practices with bioenergy has been recommended as a promising strategy to improve bioeconomy and water quality but the literature on the economics of this strategy is limited. This study evaluated the value proposition of reducing nutrient loss from cropland by implementing switchgrass riparian buffers in the Lower Mississippi River Basin (LMRB). Nutrient loss was simulated by using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool. The value proposition of nutrient abatement was quantified by estimating (1) value of trapped nutrients as fertilizer and (2) potential net returns of harvesting switchgrass as bioenergy feedstock at different farm‐gate prices. Results suggest that switchgrass buffers may reduce mean annual total nitrogen and total phosphorus loads from cropland in the LMRB by 23% and 31%, respectively. The value of trapped nutrients is considerable (mean = $69 ha−1 year−1) but far less than the cost of implementing a switchgrass buffer (mean = $163 ha−1 year−1). At biomass prices of $20, $40, $60, and $80 per dry‐ton, mean net returns of switchgrass buffers (without considering land‐use change from cropland to buffers) were estimated to be around −$66, $199, $463, and $727 ha−1 year−1, respectively. Total net returns for the LMRB may be reduced by 20% if switchgrass is grown without the addition of commercial fertilizer. The results highlight the potential of switchgrass buffers for improving water sustainability of both agricultural and bioenergy production. The value proposition of switchgrass buffers is nevertheless sensitive to future feedstock price. The impact of fertilizer prices change and forgone income on benefit analysis is also presented. © 2018 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts, and Biorefining published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recognizing economic value in multifunctional buffers in the lower Mississippi river basin

Hui

2018

Biofuels Bioprod Bioref

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“…An emerging trend in this overall subset of SWAT literature is the application of the model for combined climate change and land use change impacts (Krysanova and White, 2015;Gassman et al, 2014); over 70 combined impact studies have now been documented (CARD, 2016). Such studies first were reported for Chinese conditions (Li et al, 2004), which now include applications focused on capturing the ef-fects of historical land use change due to the influence of Chinese government programs (Zuo et al, 2016;G. H. Liu et al, 2015;W.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of impacts of agricultural and climate change scenarios on watershed water quantity and quality, and crop production

Dagnew¹,

Gassman²,

Schoof³

et al. 2016

Preprint

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Abstract. Modeling impacts of agricultural scenarios and climate change on surface water quantity and quality provides useful information for planning effective water, environmental, and land use policies. Despite the significant impacts of agriculture on water quantity and quality, limited literature exists that describes the combined impacts of agricultural land use change and climate change on future bioenergy crop yields and watershed hydrology. In this study, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) eco-hydrological model was used to model the combined impacts of five agricultural land use change scenarios and three downscaled climate pathways (representative concentration pathways, RCPs) that were created from an ensemble of eight atmosphere-ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs). These scenarios were implemented in a well calibrated SWAT model for the Raccoon River watershed (RRW) located in western Iowa. The scenarios were executed for the historical baseline, early-century, mid-century, and late-century periods. The results indicate that historical and more corn intensive agricultural scenarios with higher CO2 emissions consistently result in more water in the streams and greater water quality problems, especially late in the 21st century. Planting more switchgrass, on the other hand, results in less water in the streams and water quality improvements relative to the baseline. For all given agricultural landscapes simulated, all flow, sediment and nutrient outputs increase from early-to-late century periods for the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 climate scenarios. We also find that corn and switchgrass yields are negatively impacted under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios in the mid and late 21st century.

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“…For example, the wide expansion in corn ethanol production (first-generation biofuel) in US, encouraged by EISA in 2007, was projected to generate potential water stress at regional and local scales (Gasparatos et al 2011;Hoekman et al 2018;Zhou et al 2015), because the corn requires more water compared to other crops (e.g., wheat and soybean) due to the additional water consume in almost every growing stage, especially the joining stage. Particularly, it is estimated that a typical corn-ethanol plant (with a production capacity of 100 million gal/year) uses as much water as a community of 5000 people (Service RF 2009), demonstrating the relatively larger potential water consumption of corn cultivation.…”

Section: Water Quantity and Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioenergy production and environmental impacts

Zhao

Liu

et al. 2018

Geosci. Lett.

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Compared with the conventional fossil fuel, bioenergy has obvious advantages due to its renewability and large quantity, and thus plays a crucial role in helping defend the energy security. However, the bioenergy development may potentially cause serious environmental alterations, which remain unclear. The study summarizes the environmental impacts of bioenergy production based on the compilation and published data. Our analysis shows that more and more attention is being paid to the environmental protection as the development of bioenergy, and among the influencing terms of bioenergy production, water issues (i.e., water quantity and quality) gain the greatest concern, whereas the least attention has been given to soil erosion. Although we recognize that the bioenergy production can indeed exert negative effects on the environment in terms of water quantity and quality, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity and soil organic carbon, and soil erosion, the adverse impacts varied greatly depending on biomass types, land locations, and management practices. Identifying the reasonable cultivation locations, appropriate bioenergy crop types, and optimal management practices can be beneficial to environment and sustainable development of bioenergy. In this field, Chinese bioenergy production has lagged behind and does not match its rising energy consumption, but it has a great potential of and demand for biomass-based energy especially under its urbanization, in spite of the negative environmental impacts. Therefore, this article is expected to serve as a reference and guideline on what has been done in the bioenergy-oriented countries that might stimulate development of more effective and environmentally sound guidelines for promoting bioenergy production in China and other developing countries as well.

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Environmental and economic analysis of using SWAT to simulate the effects of switchgrass production on water quality in an impaired watershed

Cited by 24 publications

References 36 publications

Recognizing economic value in multifunctional buffers in the lower Mississippi river basin

Recognizing economic value in multifunctional buffers in the lower Mississippi river basin

Assessment of impacts of agricultural and climate change scenarios on watershed water quantity and quality, and crop production

Bioenergy production and environmental impacts

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