Simulating the hydrologic response of a semiarid watershed to switchgrass cultivation

Goldstein, J.; Tarhule, Aondover; Bräuer, David

doi:10.2166/nh.2013.163

Cited by 5 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…This higher albedo can reduce the amount of solar energy received at the surface, affecting the partitioning of sensible, latent, and ground heat fluxes (Georgescu et al 2011(Georgescu et al , 2013Anderson-Teixeira et al 2012;Anderson et al 2013;Bagley et al 2015;Miller et al 2016). Studies have noted regional cooling (Georgescu et al 2011;Le et al 2011;Khanal et al 2013;Goldstein et al 2014;Feng et al 2015) and the potential for increased precipitation (Georgescu et al 2011;Khanal et al 2013Khanal et al , 2014 associated with largescale deployment of perennial bioenergy crops. These changes were attributable to enhanced ET due to the deeper and denser rooting systems extracting soil moisture from deeper soil depths (VanLoocke et al 2010;Georgescu et al 2011;Anderson et al 2013;Hallgren et al 2013;Ferchaud et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Long-Term Hydroclimatic Sustainability of Perennial Bioenergy Crop Expansion over the United States

et al. 2017

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Large-scale cultivation of perennial bioenergy crops (e.g., miscanthus and switchgrass) offers unique opportunities to mitigate climate change through avoided fossil fuel use and associated greenhouse gas reduction. Although conversion of existing agriculturally intensive lands (e.g., maize and soy) to perennial bioenergy cropping systems has been shown to reduce near-surface temperatures, unintended consequences on natural water resources via depletion of soil moisture may offset these benefits. The hydroclimatic impacts associated with perennial bioenergy crop expansion over the contiguous United States are quantified using the Weather Research and Forecasting Model dynamically coupled to a land surface model (LSM). A suite of continuous (2000-09) medium-range resolution (20-km grid spacing) ensemble-based simulations is conducted using seasonally evolving biophysical representation of perennial bioenergy cropping systems within the LSM based on observational data. Deployment is carried out only over suitable abandoned and degraded farmlands to avoid competition with existing food cropping systems. Results show that near-surface cooling (locally, up to 5°C) is greatest during the growing season over portions of the central United States. For some regions, principal impacts are restricted to a reduction in near-surface temperature (e.g., eastern portions of the United States), whereas for other regions deployment leads to soil moisture reduction in excess of 0.15-0.2 m 3 m −3 during the simulated 10-yr period (e.g., western Great Plains). This reduction (~25%-30% of available soil moisture) manifests as a progressively decreasing trend over time. The large-scale focus of this research demonstrates the long-term hydroclimatic sustainability of large-scale deployment of perennial bioenergy crops across the continental United States, revealing potential hot spots of suitable deployment and regions to avoid. RightsWorks produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted. ABSTRACT Large-scale cultivation of perennial bioenergy crops (e.g., miscanthus and switchgrass) offers unique opportunities to mitigate climate change through avoided fossil fuel use and associated greenhouse gas reduction. Although conversion of existing agriculturally intensive lands (e.g., maize and soy) to perennial bioenergy cropping systems has been shown to reduce near-surface temperatures, unintended consequences on natural water resources via depletion of soil moisture may offset these benefits. The hydroclimatic impacts associated with perennial bioenergy crop expansion over the contiguous United States are quantified using the Weather Research and Forecasting Model dynamically coupled to a land surface model (LSM). A suite of continuous (2000-09) medium-range resolution (20-km grid spacing) ensemble-based simulations is conducted using seasonally evolving biophysical representation of perennial bioenergy cropping syst...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Long-Term Hydroclimatic Sustainability of Perennial Bioenergy Crop Expansion over the United States

et al. 2017

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“…These changes are consistent with those found by Goldstein et al . () for another watershed in the GP. By contrast, the winter shows that the same direction of change in eT and runoff (note that Goldstein et al ., did not examine the winter).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…() for another watershed in the GP. By contrast, the winter shows that the same direction of change in eT and runoff (note that Goldstein et al ., did not examine the winter). The reason for runoff and eT changing in the same direction in the winter is not immediately clear but may be a function of the replacement of winter wheat and range grass, each with different active/dormancy periods, with switchgrass.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Switchgrass was managed according to the schedule reported by Goldstein et al . (): Fertilize 56 kg/ha N on April 15, May 17, and July 17 of each year. Harvest (90% efficiency) on May 15, July 15, and November 1 of each year.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As shown by Sohl et al . (), biofuel crop production is also likely to emerge as an important driver of land use and therefore hydrologic dynamics in this part of the USA (National Research Council, ; Goldstein et al ., ).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluating the impacts of climate change and switchgrass production on a semiarid basin

Goldstein

Tarhule

2014

Hydrological Processes

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Climate and land use changes greatly modify hydrologic regimes. In this paper, we modelled the impacts of biofuel cultivation in the US Great Plains on a 1061‐km2 watershed using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrologic model. The model was calibrated to monthly discharges spanning 2002–2010 and for the winter, spring, and summer seasons. SWAT was then run for a climate‐change‐only scenario using downscaled precipitation and a projected temperature for 16 general circulation model (GCM) runs associated with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Emission Scenarios A2 scenario spanning 2040–2050. SWAT was also run on a climate change plus land use change scenario in which Alamo switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) replaced native range grasses, winter wheat, and rye (89% of the basin). For the climate‐change‐only scenario, the GCMs agreed on a monthly temperature increase of 1–2 °C by the 2042–2050 period, but they disagreed on the direction of change in precipitation. For this scenario, decreases in surface runoff during all three seasons and increases in spring and summer evapotranspiration (eT) were driven predominantly by precipitation. Increased summer temperatures also significantly contributed to changes in eT. With the addition of switchgrass, changes in surface runoff are amplified during the winter and summer, and changes in eT are amplified during all three seasons. Depending on the GCM utilized, either climate change or land use change (switchgrass cultivation) was the dominant driver of change in surface runoff while switchgrass cultivation was the major driver of changes in eT. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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A realistic meteorological assessment of perennial biofuel crop deployment: a Southern Great Plains perspective

et al. 2016

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Utility of perennial bioenergy crops (e.g., switchgrass and miscanthus) offers unique opportunities to transition toward a more sustainable energy pathway due to their reduced carbon footprint, averted competition with food crops, and ability to grow on abandoned and degraded farmlands. Studies that have examined biogeophysical impacts of these crops noted a positive feedback between near-surface cooling and enhanced evapotranspiration (ET), but also potential unintended consequences of soil moisture and groundwater depletion. To better understand hydrometeorological effects of perennial bioenergy crop expansion, this study conducted high-resolution (2-km grid spacing) simulations with a state-of-the-art atmospheric model (Weather Research and Forecasting system) dynamically coupled to a land surface model. We applied the modeling system over the Southern Plains of the United States during a normal precipitation year (2007) and a drought year (2011). By focusing the deployment of bioenergy cropping systems on marginal and abandoned farmland areas (to reduce the potential conflict with food systems), the research presented here is the first realistic examination of hydrometeorological impacts associated with perennial bioenergy crop expansion. Our results illustrate that the deployment of perennial bioenergy crops leads to widespread cooling (1-2°C) that is largely driven by an enhanced reflection of shortwave radiation and, secondarily, due to an enhanced ET. Bioenergy crop deployment was shown to reduce the impacts of drought through simultaneous moistening and cooling of the near-surface environment. However, simulated impacts on near-surface cooling and ET were reduced during the drought relative to a normal precipitation year, revealing differential effects based on background environmental conditions. This study serves as a key step toward the assessment of hydroclimatic sustainability associated with perennial bioenergy crop expansion under diverse hydrometeorological conditions by highlighting the driving mechanisms and processes associated with this energy pathway.

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Simulating the hydrologic response of a semiarid watershed to switchgrass cultivation

Cited by 5 publications

References 56 publications

On the Long-Term Hydroclimatic Sustainability of Perennial Bioenergy Crop Expansion over the United States

On the Long-Term Hydroclimatic Sustainability of Perennial Bioenergy Crop Expansion over the United States

Evaluating the impacts of climate change and switchgrass production on a semiarid basin

A realistic meteorological assessment of perennial biofuel crop deployment: a Southern Great Plains perspective

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