There is also the problem of fire.=20 Vast fields of switchgrass present a very different fire risk landscape = than fields of corn or soy. =20 |"|"|""//*\\""|"|"|=20 Geoffrey M. Henebry, Ph.D., C.S.E.=20 Professor of Biology and Geography & Senior Research Scientist Geographic Information Science Center of Excellence (GIScCE) 1021 Medary Ave., Wecota Hall 506B South Dakota State University Brookings, SD 57007=20 voice: 605-688-5351 (-5227 fax)=20 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] = <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>=20 web: globalmonitoring.sdstate.edu
________________________________ From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news on behalf of = Linda Wallace Sent: Fri 02-Feb-07 12:24 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] If not Ethanol, what then? The use of switchgrass as a biofuel feedstock is not as environmentally benign as one would hope. It does take land from other uses (food, range, livestock, native prairie) and these new varieties of switchgrass have very low root/shoot ratios. This means that this crop will need more irrigation and fertilization than its wild cousin. Although a perennial crop, replanting will be required periodically so at those points soil erosion can be a problem. Loss of excess fertilizer to ground and surface water is also an issue. What would really be a tragedy is if native grassland is plowed up and replanted with this, when native grassland is extremely endangered and there are the LIHD alternatives described in Mike Palmer's website and the Tilman et al. = paper. Linda Wallace Linda L. Wallace, Ph.D. Director, Kessler Farm Field Laboratory Professor of Botany Department of Botany & Microbiology University of Oklahoma Norman, OK 73019 (405) 325-6685 FAX (405) 325-7619 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Kristina Pendergrass wrote: > Here in Alabama, we recently heard a news story of a biofuel plant > (Perihelion Global) being opened in Opp, Alabama. This plant is = planning > to make biofuel from peanuts, which is obviously a boon to peanut = farmers > down in the south. Originally, I thought that they were going to use = the > wastes from peanut crops (e.g. shells) which is why Bill's email = (below) > prompted me to respond, but after re-reading the news story just now, = I > think they will be using the peanuts themselves: > > http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?s=3D6006238 > > I guess there will be some of the same issues here as with corn > (monoculture, food crop), though I don't know how the energetics will = work > out in this case. > > Here also is an article about research being done at Auburn = University, > also in Alabama, concerning the use of switchgrass (high-yield, = low-input, > drought-tolerant, etc.) as a potential biodfuel crop: > > http://www.ag.auburn.edu/adm/comm/news/2006/bransby.php > > > Kristina Pendergrass > Research Associate > Auburn University, AL 36849 > 334.844.5574 > > > > > =20 >> I looked at Mike's web page and I am quite ignorant about the = bioenergetcs >> of various terrestrial crops (I work in the marine environment where >> plants >> are those little one-celled critters), but I wonder whether if = grasses are >> so suitable for biofuels, what about the discarded parts of food = crops, >> such >> as corn stalks and potato plants. I realise that there is nutritional >> benefit to plowing them under, but could they be used in other ways? >> >> Another poster mentioned hydrogen and a reduced population -- I = really >> don't >> see how we could get enough hydrogen from wind and solar power unless = we >> used a lot of hydrogen fusion to greatly reduce our population. >> >> Bill Silvert >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Palmer, Mike" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> To: "William Silvert" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; = <[email protected]> >> Sent: Friday, February 02, 2007 3:51 PM >> Subject: RE: [ECOLOG-L] If not Ethanol, what then? >> >> Bill, >> Quite a number of people are working on the use of Low-Intensity, >> High-Diversity (LIHD) systems (to use Dave Tilman's term). This >> contrasts markedly with High-Intensity, Low-Diversity (HILD) systems >> such as corn or transgenic Miscanthus. LIHD systems have advantages = in >> not only being carbon-negative, but in promoting biodiversity and >> preventing habitat loss and degradation (see my arguments in >> http://ecology.okstate.edu/Libra/biofuels.htm ) >> ---Mike Palmer >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news >> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of William Silvert >> Sent: Friday, February 02, 2007 8:51 AM >> To: [email protected] >> Subject: [ECOLOG-L] If not Ethanol, what then? >> >> In the recent discussion of biofuels, there seems to be a consensus = that >> >> producing ethanol from corn has serious adverse consequences both >> ecological >> and economic. However I have not seen anyone address the broader >> question of >> what alternatives we have in the long run. Fossil fuels will = eventually >> run >> out - oil in a century or so at most, coal in several centuries - and >> while >> there may be some wonderous new technology to fill the gap, we cannot >> count >> on that. I suspect that combustible fuels will always be with us, and = I >> wonder what they will be. >> >> Bill Silvert >> >> =20 > > > =20
