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Agricultural Science

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

2011

Switchgrass

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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Carbon Exchange By Establishing Biofuel Crops In Central Illinois, Marcelo Zeri, Kristina Anderson-Teixeira, George Hickman, Michael Masters, Evan Delucia, Carl J. Bernacchi Jan 2011

Carbon Exchange By Establishing Biofuel Crops In Central Illinois, Marcelo Zeri, Kristina Anderson-Teixeira, George Hickman, Michael Masters, Evan Delucia, Carl J. Bernacchi

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Perennial grass bio-fuels may contribute to long-term carbon sequestration in soils, thereby providing a broad range of environmental benefits. To quantify those benefits, the carbon balance was investigated over three perennial grass bio-fuel crops – miscanthus (Miscanthus×giganteus), switch-grass (Panicum virgatum) and a mixture of native prairie plants – and a row crop control (maize–maize–soy) in Central Illinois, USA, during the establishment phase of the perennial grasses (2008–2011). The eddy covariance technique was used to calculate fluxes of carbon dioxide and energy balance components, such as latent and sensible heat fluxes. Whereas maize attained the highest maximal …


Field-Scale Soil Property Changes Under Switchgrass Managed For Bioenergy, Marty R. Schmer, M. A. Liebig, K. P. Vogel, Robert B. Mitchell Jan 2011

Field-Scale Soil Property Changes Under Switchgrass Managed For Bioenergy, Marty R. Schmer, M. A. Liebig, K. P. Vogel, Robert B. Mitchell

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The capacity of perennial grasses to affect change in soil properties is well documented but information on switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) managed for bioenergy is limited. An on-farm study (10 fields) in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska was sampled before switchgrass establishment and after 5 years to determine changes in soil bulk density (SBD), pH, soil phosphorus (P), and equivalent mass soil organic carbon (SOC). Changes in SBD were largely constrained to near-surface depths (0–0.05 m). SBD increased (0–0.05 m) at the Nebraska locations (mean=0.16 Mgm-3), while most South Dakota and North Dakota locations showed declines …