Natalie Hunt, Nelson Institute Ph.D. student and Carbon Model team member, and Prof. Tom Gower, Carbon Model team leader, presented posters on Biome-BGC at the GLBRC Thrust 4 retreat February 10-12, 2010 at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station.

The Renewable Fuels Standards (RFS) set out in the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act call for an increase in the production of renewable transportation fuels to 36 billion gallons per year by the year 2022, 16 billion of which must include cellulosic ethanol. The RFS will increase demand for corn grain and cellulosic ethanol, both of which will require additional biomass from crop residues such as corn cobs and corn stover. Such an increase in biomass demand will require greater production intensity on existing cropland, or introducing production onto marginal land currently set aside in conservation programs. Greater production intensity will include reducing the amount of crop residues typically left on the soil surface, which may decrease long term soil productivity.   

Major uncertainties in biofuel feedstock production include determining how much biomass can be produced, and how carbon and nutrient cycling in agricultural ecosystems will be impacted by increased residue removal.  The answers to these questions will determine if and how we can sustainably produce adequate biomass to meet our future energy demands.