The Economics of Arundo donax—A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Arundo donax (giant reed) is an herbaceous, perennial and non-food crop producing dry biomass with relatively high yields in many regions and under different climates. Although there exists a large amount of literature on A. donax, the economic aspects are somehow neglected or are very much limited in most papers. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to analyse the economics of A. donax by applying a systematic literature review of the field. Our sample consists of 68 relevant studies out of the 6009 identified, classified into four groups: Bioenergy, agronomy, invasiveness and phytoremediation. Most papers were focusing on Italy and on the Mediterranean region and were written on the bioenergy aspect. Most studies suggest that A. donax has a relatively high energy balance and yields, high investment but low maintenance costs and high potentials for phytoremediation of contaminated soils. However, a certain section of the literature, mainly based on US experience, shows that giant reed should be produced with care due to its invasiveness hazard. On the whole, A. donax was found to have high economic potentials for biomass production in marginal as well as disadvantageous lands operated by small farmers in the Mediterranean region.

Identification of Known and Novel Arundo donax L. MicroRNAs and Their Targets Using High-Throughput Sequencing and Degradome Analysis

“…With the development of high-throughput sequencing, miRNAs have been identified from various plant species. The identification and characterization of miRNAs may be particularly relevant for A. donax , having a surprising resilient character to adverse environmental conditions either biotic or abiotic, resulting in high yields and low agronomic input requirements [ 46 , 47 ]. However, probably due to the complexity of its not yet fully sequenced genome, only an in silico miRNA prediction, based on transcriptomic data, has been performed so far [ 48 ].…”

The role of soils in provision of energy

“…One way proposed to avoid competition between energy and food crops is to grow energy crops on marginal land that is unsuitable for food production [63,64]. Fast-growing energy crops, such as the woody crops, Salix and Populus , and energy grasses, Miscanthus and Arundo , have high potential to provide phytoremediation of contaminated areas [65]. Reforestation schemes could contribute 8 × 10 18 to 1.1 × 10 20 J yr −1 , equivalent to approximately 1–18% of the 2018 world energy supply [44].…”

The “Zero Miles Product” Concept Applied to Biofuel Production: A Case Study

“…Moreover, Giant reedgrass can be cultivated for 20-25 years without replanting [28]. Biomass production from this crop is about 16.3 t/ha [32], thus considering the 10 million hectares of marginal and abandoned land in Europe, this could render about 16 × 10 4 Mt/year of Giant reedgrass as feedstock for biofuel production.…”

“…Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is a perennial warm season bunchgrass native to North America which can grow across a wide geographic range. Its sugar content is about 56% [34], and its biomass yield is 7.9 t/ha [32]. This means that 8 × 10 4 Mt/year of switchgrass could be produced in Europe as feedstock for biofuel production.…”