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Innovative Energy & Research | ISSN: 2576-1463 | Volume 7
Renewable Energy and Resources
Energy Materials and Fuel Cell Research
2nd International Conference on
&
August 27-28, 2018 | Boston, USA
Landscape design strategies for sustainable biomass feedstock supplies
Douglas L Karlen
USDA ARS-National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, USA
S ustainable bioenergy production requires abundant, reliable, and clean (low ash or soil contaminated) feedstocks. Potential
cellulosic sources include crop residues (e.g., corn stover, small grain or sugarcane straw) and energy crops (e.g., switchgrass
or miscanthus). Environmental, economic, and social sustainability are our focal point because plant biomass also supports
critical ecosystem services including building and maintaining soil health. Our project team is striving to quantify sustainable
crop residue harvest and energy crop production goals for different soil resources and landscape positions. We are examining
seed, fertilizer, water, herbicide, labor, machinery costs and many other metrics through simulation modeling and on-farm
field research. It is important to recognize that agricultural biomass (perennial energy crops and crop residues) can be used to
produce liquid fuels, chemicals, and heat/power. Direct comparisons to the wind and solar energy production would only be
partially relevant. Our primary (targeted) end users are producers of liquid biofuels. For that purpose, one ton of agricultural
biomass will produce about 70 gallons of ethanol. If used for heating, one ton of agricultural biomass will produce about
14 million Btu. If used for power generation in an efficient production facility, one ton of agricultural biomass can yield
approximately 1,250 kWh of electricity. Currently, perennial energy crops can yield between 3 and 8 tons (or more) per acre
depending on plant species and field conditions. Although land-use issues are an important component associated with biomass
energy production, this project is pursuing an innovative strategy for identifying less profitable areas within current crop
production fields and targeting them for energy crops. Our goal is to provide a land base for energy crops that do not infringe
on highly productive agricultural lands, thereby simultaneously increasing both land-owner and environmental benefits (i.e.,
better soil health) on lands currently having negative environmental impacts due to soil erosion, nutrient leaching, loss of
soil organic carbon, or emission of greenhouse gases. Examples of soil health measurements on row-crop versus perennial
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land, using physical, chemical, and biological indicators, and being interpreted with the
Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) will be discussed.
Biography
Dr. Douglas L. Karlen is a Distinguished Senior Research Soil Scientist with the USDA-ARS at the National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment (NLAE)
in Ames, IA. His research on soil quality assessment and sustainable bioenergy/bio-product feedstock harvesting is recognized internationally. He is author or co-
author of 235 journal articles and more than 150 other publications. Doug is a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, Soil
Science Society of America, Soil and Water Conservation Society, and recipient of the Hugh Hammond Bennett award for national and international leadership in
natural resources conservation.
Douglas L Karlen, Innov Ener Res 2018, Volume 7
DOI: 10.4172/2576-1463-C2-005