Biomass production of herbaceous energy crops in the United States: field trial results and yield potential maps from the multiyear regional feedstock partnership

Dokyoung Lee ,Richard Ogoshi ,Pane S Burks ,T L Tew ,Jesse I Morrison ,Rodney Farris ,Erin Anderson ,G N Odvody ,D R Viands ,David W Williams ,J H Bouton ,James C Medley ,Scott A Staggenborg ,Jürg M Blumenthal ,L Richard Hoffman ,Vijaya Gopal Kakani ,Chengci Chen ,Christopher Daly ,Roch E Gaussoin ,Ali Missaoui ,Brian S Baldwin ,Ezra Aberle ,Andrew Wycislo ,Keith R Harmoney ,Anna L Hale ,John R Gill ,Charlie W Brummer ,Thomas Voigt ,Yingzhen Yang ,K A Gravois ,Lloyd T Wilson ,Michael Barrett ,Stacy A Bonos ,Ronnie W Heiniger ,J Brett Rushing ,Ken Moore ,Robert B Mitchell ,Michael D Halbleib ,William L Rooney ,Chang Oh Hong ,W W Hanna ,John H Fike ,Jose Egenolf ,William F Anderson ,Jonathan D Richwine ,David Bransby ,Robert L Kallenbach ,David D Baltensperger ,Matt Sousek ,Edward P Richard ,Emily A Heaton ,Lauretta Quinn ,Linda Williams ,G Uehara ,Bisoondat Macoon ,Jimmy Ray Parrish ,Ronnie W Schnell ,Vance N Owens

doi:10.1111/gcbb.12493

Abstract

AbstractCurrent knowledge of yield potential and best agronomic management practices for perennial bioenergy grasses is primarily derived from small‐scale and short‐term studies, yet these studies inform policy at the national scale. In an effort to learn more about how bioenergy grasses perform across multiple locations and years, the U.S. Department of Energy (US DOE)/Sun Grant Initiative Regional Feedstock Partnership was initiated in 2008. The objectives of the Feedstock Partnership were to (1) provide a wide range of information for feedstock selection (species choice) and management practice options for a variety of regions and (2) develop national maps of potential feedstock yield for each of the herbaceous species evaluated. The Feedstock Partnership expands our previous understanding of the bioenergy potential of switchgrass, Miscanthus, sorghum, energycane, and prairie mixtures on Conservation Reserve Program land by conducting long‐term, replicated trials of each species at diverse environments in the U.S. Trials were initiated between 2008 and 2010 and completed between 2012 and 2015 depending on species. Field‐scale plots were utilized for switchgrass and Conservation Reserve Program trials to use traditional agricultural machinery. This is important as we know that the smaller scale studies often overestimated yield potential of some of these species. Insufficient vegetative propagules of energycane and Miscanthus prohibited farm‐scale trials of these species. The Feedstock Partnership studies also confirmed that environmental differences across years and across sites had a large impact on biomass production. Nitrogen application had variable effects across feedstocks, but some nitrogen fertilizer generally had a positive effect. National yield potential maps were developed using PRISM‐ELM for each species in the Feedstock Partnership. This manuscript, with the accompanying supplemental data, will be useful in making decisions about feedstock selection as well as agronomic practices across a wide region of the country.

Highlights

Herbaceous dedicated energy crops including switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), Miscanthus (Miscanthus spp.), energycane (Saccharum spp.), and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) will play an important role in future sustainable bioenergy feedstock production, as outlined first in the 2005 Billion Ton Study (U.S Department of Energy, 2005) in the 2011 Billion Ton Update (U.S Department of Energy, 2011) and recently in the 2016 Billion Ton Report (U.S Department of Energy, 2016).Switchgrass has received the greatest attention among all the potential perennial herbaceous bioenergy feedstocks studied in the past three decades (Parrish & Fike, 2005)
The Feedstock Partnership expands our previous understanding of the bioenergy potential of switchgrass, Miscanthus, sorghum, energycane, and prairie mixtures on Conservation Reserve Program land by conducting long-term, replicated trials of each species at diverse environments in the U.S Trials were initiated between 2008 and 2010 and completed between 2012 and 2015 depending on species
The results demonstrate that Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land will shift vegetative composition over time based on harvest and fertilization management for biomass feedstocks (Harmoney et al, 2016)

Summary

Introduction

The outpouring of interest and research effort on this North American native species arose from its high productivity, broad adaptability, and suitability to marginal sites These were key factors that led the U.S Department of Energy to select switchgrass as a model energy crop (Kszos et al, 2000). Because of its high genetic diversity, switchgrass grows across an expansive native range, extending from Canada to Mexico and from the Atlantic Coast to the Sierra Nevada Mountains (Hitchcock, 1971). The species has both upland and lowland ecotypes, primarily classified by their preferred habitat.

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Conclusion