<i>Miscanthus</i> biomass production for energy in Europe and its potential contribution to decreasing fossil fuel carbon emissions

Clifton‐Brown, John; Stampfl, Paul; Jones, Michael B.

doi:10.1111/j.1529-8817.2003.00749.x

Cited by 294 publications

(230 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Our results highlighted a steady decline in harvestable biomass of 0.27-0.31% per day, which is consistent with data reported by Lewandowski et al (2003b) and Clifton-Brown et al (2004, i.e. 0.30-0.39% per day.…”

supporting

confidence: 92%

Influence of soil texture and crop management on the productivity of miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus Greef et Deu.) in the Mediterranean

et al. 2014

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Biomass productivity is the main favorable trait of candidate bioenergy crops. Miscanthus 9 giganteus is a promising species, due to its high-yield potential and positive traits including low nutrient requirements and potential for C sequestration in soils. However, miscanthus productivity appears to be mostly related to water availability in the soil. This is important, particularly in Mediterranean regions where the risk of summer droughts is high. To date, there have been no studies on miscanthus responses under different soil conditions, while only a few have investigated the role of different crop managements, such as irrigation and nitrogen fertilization, in the Mediterranean. Therefore, the effects of contrasting soil textures (i.e. silty-clay-loam vs. sandy-loam) and alternative agricultural intensification regimes (i.e. rainfed vs. irrigated and 0, 50, 100 kg ha À1 nitrogen fertilization), on miscanthus productivity were evaluated at three different harvest times for two consecutive years. Our results confirmed the importance of water availability in determining satisfactory yields in Mediterranean environments, and how soil and site characteristics strongly affect biomass production. We found that the aboveground dry yields varied between 5 Mg ha À1 up to 29 Mg ha À1 . Conversely, nitrogen fertilization played only a minor role on crop productivity, and high fertilization levels were relatively inefficient. Finally, a marked decrease, of up to À40%, in the aboveground yield occurred when the harvest time was delayed from autumn to winter. Overall, our results highlighted the importance of determining crop responses on a siteby-site basis, and that decisions on the optimal harvest time should be driven by the biomass end use and other long-term considerations, such as yield stability and the maintenance of soil fertility.

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confidence: 92%

Influence of soil texture and crop management on the productivity of miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus Greef et Deu.) in the Mediterranean

et al. 2014

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“…While there are a number of models capable of accurately simulating yields for a wide range of conditions (e.g. Clifton-Brown et al [12]), predicted changes in soil C stocks are less certain, and for the less studied crops like Miscanthus, uncertainty is particularly high [13,14].…”

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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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“…Despite poor overwintering in the first year, Miscanthus has been indicated as an energy crop, which can be grown almost in all Europe (Clifton-Brown, Lewandowski, 2002;Clifton-Brown et al, 2004) and some experiments conducted in more northern countries concluded the same (Jezowski et al, 2011;Kryževičienė et al, 2011). There are various considerations to improve the biomass quality of the recycling process to obtain a higher total energy.…”

Section: Miscanthus Biomass Quality Composition and Methods Of Feedstmentioning

confidence: 99%

Miscanthus biomass quality composition and methods of feedstock preparation for conversion into synthetic diesel fuel

Kadžiulienė

Jasinskas

Zinkevičius

et al. 2014

Zemdirbyste-Agriculture

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When developing various technologies designed for biomass conversion into biofuels, it is important to establish the suitability of raw material of lignocellulotic, non-food plants such as Miscanthus, whose biomass has a good energy potential. Biomass productivity, quality and its suitability for processing under more northern climatic conditions are important factors to be considered. Experiments were aimed to estimate quality and technological parameters of Miscanthus growing, harvesting and processing into synthetic diesel, to evaluate chemical, physical and mechanical properties of biomass and to determine energy consumption necessary for biomass preparation for conversion into synthetic diesel. The study object was biomass of Miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus Greef et Deu) produced under Lithuanian and German climate conditions. Miscanthus harvested in the autumn produced up to 9.42 t ha -1 dry matter (DM) yield, which was significantly higher in the treatments fertilised with a higher nitrogen rate. The content of cellulose (413-456 g kg -1 DM) and hemicellulose (204-236 g kg -1 DM) was very similar at all fertilisation levels. The highest content of lignin (117 g kg -1 DM) was established in the treatments fertilised with 120 kg ha -1 N. The spring-harvested Miscanthus biomass had significantly lower moisture content and the yield was significantly lower, too. While preparing the biomass as feedstock for synthetic diesel the greatest reduction in moisture content (to 8.59 ± 1.38%) occurred when Miscanthus biomass was chopped, pre-dried and milled, and particles larger than 2 mm accounted for the largest share. The energy use for chopping of autumn-harvested biomass was lower and chopping efficiency was higher compared with the spring-harvested biomass. The composition of major components of synthetic fuel from Miscanthus biomass was very similar to that of mineral diesel.

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Miscanthus biomass production for energy in Europe and its potential contribution to decreasing fossil fuel carbon emissions

Cited by 294 publications

References 22 publications

Influence of soil texture and crop management on the productivity of miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus Greef et Deu.) in the Mediterranean

Influence of soil texture and crop management on the productivity of miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus Greef et Deu.) in the Mediterranean

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

Miscanthus biomass quality composition and methods of feedstock preparation for conversion into synthetic diesel fuel

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