Nitrogen fertilization of switchgrass increases biomass yield and improves net greenhouse gas balance in northern Michigan, U.S.A

Nikièma, Paligwende; Rothstein, David E.; Min, Doohong; Kapp, Christian J.

doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2011.08.006

Cited by 61 publications

(40 citation statements)

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“…Unlike switchgrass, M. x giganteus yields increased only from 0 to 80 kg N ha −1 year −1 application rates. Similar results have been reported in elsewhere [60,[63][64][65]. In the southern US, switchgrass yield increased as nitrogen fertilizer application rates increased up to 224 kg N ha −1 [63], and "Alamo" switchgrass produced the maximum yield at 168 kg N ha −1 [64].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Adaptation of C4 Bioenergy Crop Species to Various Environments within the Southern Great Plains of USA

et al. 2017

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Abstract:As highly productive perennial grasses are evaluated as bioenergy feedstocks, a major consideration is biomass yield stability. Two experiments were conducted to examine some aspects of yield stability for two biofuel species: switchgrass (Panicum vigratum L.) and Miscanthus x giganteus (Mxg). Biomass yields of these species were evaluated under various environmental conditions across the Southern Great Plains (SGP), including some sites with low soil fertility. In the first experiment, measured yields of four switchgrass ecotypes and Mxg varied among locations. Overall, plants showed optimal growth performance in study sites close to their geographical origins. Lowland switchgrass ecotypes and Mxg yields simulated by the ALMANAC model showed reasonable agreement with the measured yields across all study locations, while the simulated yields of upland switchgrass ecotypes were overestimated in northern locations. In the second experiment, examination of different N fertilizer rates revealed switchgrass yield increases over the range of 0, 80, or 160 kg N ha −1 year −1 , while Mxg only showed yield increases between the low and medium N rates. This provides useful insights to crop management of two biofuel species and to enhance the predictive accuracy of process-based models, which are critical for developing bioenergy market systems in the SGP.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Adaptation of C4 Bioenergy Crop Species to Various Environments within the Southern Great Plains of USA

et al. 2017

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“…§ Compares the values between sampling time 1 (April to June) and time 2 (July to Sep) at P < 0.05. Growing season emission factors (N EF ) were similar for IC and SM which is consistent with the findings of others (Evers et al, 2010;Nikiema et al, 2011;Schmer et al, 2012;Wile et al, 2014;Oates et al, 2016). In 2012 when fertilization began N EF for the IC and SM averaged 0.4% (0.90 kg fertilizer N ha -1 ), then increased significantly to 0.87 and 1.74% (2.0 and 3.9 kg fertilizer N ha -1 ) in 2013 then declined to 0.75% (1.7 kg fertilizer N ha -1 ) in 2014 for the growing season.…”

Section: Julyseptembersupporting

confidence: 81%

“…Cumulative four year biomass C produced including the C sequestered into the soil of the PM was slightly greater than the four year seasonal CO 2 -C emissions, where, biomass production for the SM and IC exceeded CO 2 -C emissions by an average of 14.1 Mg C ha -1 . The greater C assimilated within the intercrop compensated for higher C losses via soil respiration and other C losses from the system which resulted in a net accumulation of carbon, compared with the PM (Peichl et al, 2006: Nikiema et al, 2011Schmer et al, 2012). There are several things to consider from this interpretation: first, this approach was not an attempt to short circuit accepted methods of determining net ecosystem production (NEP), but to show that the biomass produced over a growing season and the increase in soil organic C significantly offset growing season soil CO 2 -C fluxes.…”

Section: Soil Nh 4 -N and No 3 -Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Methane fluxes reported in the literature from switchgrass production range from -3.8 to 2.4 g CH 4 -C ha -1 d -1 for fertilized monoculture switchgrass and −6.8 to -3.8 g CH 4 -C ha -1 d -1 for unfertilized switchgrass and are predominately sinks for CH 4 -C (Nikiema et al, 2011;Schmer et al, 2012;Wile et al, 2014;Raun et al, 2016). Total growing season soil CH 4 -C uptake was not significantly different among the PM, IC and SM treatments (Table 4).…”

Section: Ch 4 -C Flux Rates and Seasonal Emissionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Peak CO 2 -C fluxes occurred during June and July. Nikiema et al (2011) and others (Lee et al, 2007;Schmer et al, 2012) reported CO 2 flux rates under fertilized and non-fertilized switchgrass ranged from 15 to 60 kg CO 2 -C ha -1 d -1 and reported N fertilization had no effect on soil respiration rates. Peichl et al (2006) measured CO 2 flux rates from a poplar (Populus eltoides ´ Populus nigra clone DN-177) intercropped with barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and a barley monoculture in southern Ontario, Canada.…”

Section: Soil Nh 4 -N and No 3 -Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Intercropping with Switchgrass Improves Net Greenhouse Gas Balance in Hybrid Poplar Plantations on a Sand Soil

Collins

Fay

Kimura³

et al. 2017

Soil Science Society of America Journal

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In the Pacific Northwest, commercial hybrid poplar (Populus generosa Henry × Populus canadensis Moench.) is managed at low stocking densities under irrigation for high-value timber production. The objectives of this study were to measure greenhouse gas emissions (CH4, CO 2 , and N 2 O) during intercropping of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) with hybrid poplar; estimate losses of fertilizer-N as N 2 O, and estimate global warming potentials (GWP) of the intercrop. Cumulative above-ground biomass-C of the poplar monoculture (PM) closely matched the four year growing season (GS) soil CO 2 -C emissions, where aboveground biomass of the switchgrass monoculture (SM) and intercrop (IC) exceeded GS CO 2 -C emissions by 14.1 Mg C ha -1 . Soil CH 4 -C uptake was not significantly different between treatments, while GS N 2 O-N emissions for PM were ~80% lower than both IC and SM. N 2 O emissions factors averaged 0.7% of the applied N-fertilizer. Cumulative contributions of CO 2 emissions to GWP were offset by biomass-C resulting in a near zero balance (−5.1 Mg CO 2eq ha -1 ) for the PM, where, IC and SM sequestered significantly more CO 2 resulting in a net GWP of −42.5 and -32.2 Mg CO 2eq ha -1 , respectively. Intercropping with switchgrass can improve the net greenhouse gas balance of hybrid poplar. Continued research is needed on the effects of irrigated bioenergy production on GHG emissions in intercropped systems as they will become increasingly important as agricultural water use, water availability and quality are challenged by climate change.Abbreviations: DM, dry matter; GHG, greenhouse gas; GS, growing season; GWP, global warming potential; N EF , nitrogen emissions factor; PM, monoculture poplar; IC, poplar/ switchgrass intercrop; SM, switchgrass monoculture M ajor shifts in crop production will occur as farmers prepare to supply the demand for biomass feedstocks for production of renewable biofuels. These shifts will affect agroecosystem services related to water use, carbon storage, nutrient cycling and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that have direct effects on air, water, and soil quality (Popp et al., 2014). Perennial grasses are an important source of feed and fiber and are considered sustainable bioenergy crops because they have the capacity to produce large quantities of biomass, can be grown on marginal lands, improve soil quality and protect soils from erosion (Lemus and Lal, 2005;Sartori et al., 2006; Casler et al., 2009;Gelfand et al., 2013). Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a prominent biomass crop for the US biofuel industry (Sanderson et al., 2007; Casler et al., 2009) because it yields well on a variety of soil types, is drought-tolerant, and has low fertility requirements (McLaughlin and Kszos, 2005;Lemus and Lal, 2005;Kimura et al., 2015). The root system of switchgrass has been shown to offset C losses and promotes C sequestration by adding a Core Ideas• A critical issue in the production of biofuels has been the competition with food crops• Intercropping switchgrass and hybrid poplar wa...

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No‐till establishment improves the climate benefit of bioenergy crops on marginal grasslands

Ruan

Robertson

2020

Soil Science Soc of Amer J

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Expanding biofuel production is expected to accelerate the conversion of unmanaged marginal lands to meet biomass feedstock needs. Greenhouse gas production during conversion jeopardizes the ensuing climate benefits, but most research to date has focused only on conversion to annual crops and only following tillage. Here we report the global warming impact of converting USDA Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) grasslands to three types of bioenergy crops using no‐till (NT) vs. conventional tillage (CT). We established replicated NT and CT plots in three CRP fields planted to continuous corn, switchgrass, or restored prairie. For the 2 yr following an initial soybean year in all fields, we found that, on average, NT conversion reduced nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions by 50% and CO2 emissions by 20% compared with CT conversion. Differences were higher in Year 1 than in Year 2 in the continuous corn field, and in the two perennial systems the differences disappeared after Year 1. In all fields net CO2 emissions (as measured by eddy covariance) were positive for the first 2 yr following CT establishment, but following NT establishment net CO2 emissions were close to zero or negative, indicating net C sequestration. Overall, NT improved the global warming impact of biofuel crop establishment following CRP conversion by over 20‐fold compared with CT (−6.01 Mg CO2e ha−1 yr−1 for NT vs. −0.25 Mg CO2e ha−1 yr−1 for CT, on average). We also found that Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates of N2O emissions (as measured by static chambers) greatly underestimated actual emissions for converted fields regardless of tillage. Policies should encourage adoption of NT for converting marginal grasslands to perennial bioenergy crops to reduce C debt and maximize climate benefits.

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Nitrogen fertilization of switchgrass increases biomass yield and improves net greenhouse gas balance in northern Michigan, U.S.A

Cited by 61 publications

References 42 publications

Adaptation of C4 Bioenergy Crop Species to Various Environments within the Southern Great Plains of USA

Adaptation of C4 Bioenergy Crop Species to Various Environments within the Southern Great Plains of USA

Intercropping with Switchgrass Improves Net Greenhouse Gas Balance in Hybrid Poplar Plantations on a Sand Soil

No‐till establishment improves the climate benefit of bioenergy crops on marginal grasslands

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