Download or read book Effects of Precipitation Changes on Switchgrass Biomass and Greenhouse Gas Emission written by Sadiye Aras and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Climate Change Impacts on Plant Biomass Growth written by Mohammad Ali and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-09-03 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a methodical explanation of our biomass-driven ecosystem, the undeniable uncertainties posed by the response of vegetation to changes in environmental conditions and the fact that humans everywhere have an interest, even an obligation, to cooperate in a global campaign to combat climate change.
Download or read book Responses of Switchgrass Panicum Virgatum L to Precipitation Amount and Temperature written by Jeffrey C. Hartman and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Anthropogenic climate change is likely to alter the function and composition of ecosystems worldwide through increased precipitation variability and temperatures. To predict ecosystem responses, a greater understanding of the physiological and growth responses of plants is required. Dominant species drive ecosystem responses, and it is essential to understand how they respond to understand potential ecosystem changes. Dominant species, such as switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), posses large genotypic and phenotypic variability, which will impact the degree of responses to projected climate changes. I studied the physiological and growth responses of switchgrass, a common perennial warm-season C4 grass that is native to the tallgrass prairie, to alterations in precipitation amount and temperature. The first experiment I conducted focused on the responses of three ecotypes of P. virgatum to three precipitation regimes (average, 25% below, 25% above). I concluded that the physiological responses of photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration, dark-adapted fluorescence, and mid-day water potential in P. virgatum were explained by ecotypic differences. Robust responses to altered precipitation were seen in the water use efficiency, mid-day water potential, and aboveground biomass. Ecotypic differences were also seen in several aboveground biomass variables, and most strikingly in flowering times and rates. There were few interactions between ecotype and precipitation, suggesting precipitation is a strong driver of biomass production, whereas adaption of ecotypes to their local environment affects physiological processes. A second experiment studied the response of local populations of P. virgatum to nocturnal warming. Results showed significant differences in daytime E, daytime gs, and flowering phenology between treatments. Differences in aboveground biomass were between topographic positions. I concluded that water availability, based on topographic position, is a strong driver of P. virgatum aboveground biomass production, but nocturnal warming has the potential to impact flowering phenology, physiological responses, and exacerbate plant water stress. I also reviewed the literature on the ecological effects of implementing switchgrass cultivation for biofuel. From the literature review, I concluded that large-scale switchgrass cultivation will have widespread ecological impacts. If landscape heterogeneity is maintained through harvest rotations, no till farming, and mixed species composition, ecosystem services can be maintained while providing economic value.
Download or read book Handbook on Climate Change and Agriculture written by Ariel Dinar and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2011-01-01 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ô. . . this book is a very useful resource for the lawyer. . . makes a good start by presenting a wide-ranging portfolio of multidisciplinary research that will assist in progressing the task, challenging though it may be.Õ Ð Chris Rodgers, Environmental Liability This book explores the interaction between climate change and the agriculture sector. Agriculture is essential to the livelihood of people and nations, especially in the developing world; therefore, any impact on it will have significant economic, social, and political ramifications. Scholars from around the world and from various fields have been brought together to explore this important topic. The contributions found here analyze direct agronomic effects, the economic impacts on agriculture, agricultural impacts on the economy, agricultural mitigation, and farmer adaptation. The authors argue that climate change is likely to have an extensive impact on agriculture around the world through changes in temperature, precipitation, concentrations of carbon dioxide, and available water flows. This thorough and timely volume is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in exploring the impacts of climate change in arguably the most important sector of the world economy. Economists, agronomists, and climate modelers in academia and the public sector, policy analysts and development agency staff, and graduate/postgraduate students will find this remarkable volume a welcome addition to their collection.
Download or read book Changing Precipitation Regimes and Terrestrial Ecosystems written by Jake F. Weltzin and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2003-01-01 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the beginning of the twenty-first century, few people could deny the reality of global change. But while most alarm has been over increasing temperatures, other changes are occurring in precipitation patternsÑvariations that may be due in part to global warming but also to factors such as changes in atmospheric circulation and land surfaces. This volume provides a central source of information about this newly emerging area of global change research. It presents ongoing investigations into the responses of plant communities and ecosystems to the experimental manipulation of precipitation in a variety of field settingsÑparticularly in the western and central United States, where precipitation is already scarce or variable. By exploring methods that can be used to predict responses of ecosystems to changes in precipitation regimes, it demonstrates new approaches to global change research and highlights the importance of precipitation regimes in structuring ecosystems. The contributors first document the importance of precipitation, soil characteristics, and soil moisture to plant life. They then focus on the roles of precipitation amount, seasonality, and frequency in shaping varied terrestrial ecosystems: desert, sagebrush steppe, oak savanna, tall- and mixed-grass prairie, and eastern deciduous forest. These case studies illustrate many complex, tightly woven, interactive relationships among precipitation, soils, and plantsÑrelationships that will dictate the responses of ecosystems to changes in precipitation regimes. The approaches utilized in these chapters include spatial comparisons of vegetation structure and function across different ecosytems; analyses of changes in plant architecture and physiology in response to temporal variation in precipitation; experiments to manipulate water availability; and modeling approaches that characterize the relationships between climate variables and vegetation types. All seek to assess vegetation responses to major shifts in climate that appear to be occurring at present and may become the norm in the future. As the first volume to discuss and document current and cutting-edge concepts and approaches to research into changing precipitation regimes and terrestrial ecosystems, this book shows the importance of developing reliable predictions of the precipitation changes that may occur with global warming. These studies clearly demonstrate that patterns of environmental variation and the nature of vegetation responses are complex phenomena that are only beginning to be understood, and that these experimental approaches are critical for our understanding of future change.
Download or read book Switchgrass written by Andrea Monti and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-03-14 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The demand for renewable energies from biomass is growing steadily as policies are enacted to encourage such development and as industry increasingly sees an opportunity to develop bio-energy enterprises. Recent policy changes in the EU, USA and other countries are spurring interest in the cultivation of energy crops such as switchgrass. Switchgrass has gained and early lead in the race to find a biomass feedstock for energy production (and for the almost requisite need for bio-based products from such feedstocks). Switchgrass: A Valuable Biomass Crop for Energy provides a comprehensive guide to the biology, physiology, breeding, culture and conversion of switchgrass as well as highlighting various environmental, economic and social benefits. Considering this potential energy source, Switchgrass: A Valuable Biomass Crop for Energy brings together chapters from a range of experts in the field, including a foreword from Kenneth P. Vogel, to collect and present the environmental benefits and characteristics of this a crop with the potential to mitigate the risks of global warming by replacing fossil fuels. Including clear figures and tables to support discussions, Switchgrass: A Valuable Biomass Crop for Energy provides a solid reference for anyone with interest or investment in the development of bioenergy; researchers, policy makers and stakeholders will find this a key resource.
Download or read book Biomass Utilization written by Wilfred Cote and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-12-01 with total page 720 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This proceedings volume represents the culmination of nearly three years of planning, organizing and carrying out of a NATO Ad vanced Study Institute on Biomass Utilization. The effort was initi ated by Dr. Harry Sobel, then Editor of Biosources Digest, and a steering committee representing the many disciplines that this field brings together. . When the fiscal and logistical details of the original plan could not be worked out, the idea was temporarily suspended. In the spring of 1982, the Renewable Materials Institute of the State University of New York at the College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, New York revived the plan. A number of modifications had to be made, including the venue which was changed from the U.S.A. to Portugal. Additional funding beyond the basic support provided by the Scientific Affairs Division of NATO had to be obtained. Ul timately there were supplementary grants from the Foundation for Microbiology and the Anne S. Richardson Fund to assist student participants. The New York State College of Forestry Foundation, Inc. provided major support through the Renewable Ma terials Institute. The ASI was held in Alcabideche, Portugal from September 26 to October 9, 1982. Eighty participants including fifteen principal lecturers were assembled at the Hotel Sintra Estoril for the program that was organized as a comprehensive course on biomass utilization. The main lectures were supplemented by relevant short papers offered by the participants.
Download or read book Long term Effects of Climate Change on Grassland Soil Systems written by Steven Charles Jr Rostkowski and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate change predictions for the Great Plains region of North America include increased temperatures, changes to annual precipitation, and reduced growing season precipitation, which will likely alter grassland soil systems. To date, few studies have examined belowground community responses to predicted climate change scenarios, with fewer assessing long-term changes. My research focused on the impacts of long-term changes in precipitation and associated soil water content on belowground grassland systems (belowground plant biomass, soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools, microbial biomass C and N, and invertebrate communities) using recently collected samples from a long-term (16-yr) reciprocal core transplant between Konza Prairie Biological Station (MAP = 850 mm) and Kansas State Agricultural Research Center at Hays (MAP = 580 mm), with the Hays site having a long-term average annual precipitation amount that is ~30% less than the Konza site. Results from the experiment indicate that either increases or decreases in annual precipitation can have profound effects on belowground grassland systems. Belowground plant biomass, microbial biomass, and potential C mineralization rates were greater at the wetter Konza site regardless of soil origin. Total C stored in soils incubated at Konza was significantly greater as well, likely due to greater root inputs. The effects of precipitation were most apparent in the surface soil layers (0-20 cm), while soil origin impacted soil properties to a greater extent with increasing depth. This contrasted with results for the soil mesofauna, where total microarthropods responded negatively and nematodes responded positively to increased annual precipitation. Results of this study indicate important changes in soil C and N pools, belowground plant biomass, and soil mesofauna within grassland systems subject to changing precipitation regimes, and suggest more mesic prairie systems are more sensitive to changes in soil water availability than those in more arid grassland systems.
Download or read book Ecological Climatology written by Gordon Bonan and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 743 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The thoroughly updated new edition of Gordon Bonan's comprehensive textbook on terrestrial ecosystems and climate change, for advanced students and researchers.
Download or read book Climate Change and Water written by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change / Working Group Technical Support Unit and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Technical Paper addresses the issue of freshwater. Sealevel rise is dealt with only insofar as it can lead to impacts on freshwater in coastal areas and beyond. Climate, freshwater, biophysical and socio-economic systems are interconnected in complex ways. Hence, a change in any one of these can induce a change in any other. Freshwater-related issues are critical in determining key regional and sectoral vulnerabilities. Therefore, the relationship between climate change and freshwater resources is of primary concern to human society and also has implications for all living species. -- page vii.
Download or read book Climate Impacts on Energy Systems written by Jane O. Ebinger and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2011 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "While the energy sector is a primary target of efforts to arrest and reverse the growth of greenhouse gas emissions and lower the carbon footprint of development, it is also expected to be increasingly affected by unavoidable climate consequences from the damage already induced in the biosphere. Energy services and resources, as well as seasonal demand, will be increasingly affected by changing trends, increasing variability, greater extremes and large inter-annual variations in climate parameters in some regions. All evidence suggests that adaptation is not an optional add-on but an essential reckoning on par with other business risks. Existing energy infrastructure, new infrastructure and future planning need to consider emerging climate conditions and impacts on design, construction, operation, and maintenance. Integrated risk-based planning processes will be critical to address the climate change impacts and harmonize actions within and across sectors. Also, awareness, knowledge, and capacity impede mainstreaming of climate adaptation into the energy sector. However, the formal knowledge base is still nascent?information needs are complex and to a certain extent regionally and sector specific. This report provides an up-to-date compendium of what is known about weather variability and projected climate trends and their impacts on energy service provision and demand. It discusses emerging practices and tools for managing these impacts and integrating climate considerations into planning processes and operational practices in an environment of uncertainty. It focuses on energy sector adaptation, rather than mitigation which is not discussed in this report. This report draws largely on available scientific and peer-reviewed literature in the public domain and takes the perspective of the developing world to the extent possible."
Download or read book CO2 Sequestration and Valorization written by Claudia R. V. Morgado and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2014-03-12 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The reconciliation of economic development, social justice and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is one of the biggest political challenges of the moment. Strategies for mitigating CO2 emissions on a large scale using sequestration, storage and carbon technologies are priorities on the agendas of research centres and governments. Research on carbon sequestration is the path to solving major sustainability problems of this century a complex issue that requires a scientific approach and multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary technology, plus a collaborative policy among nations. Thus, this challenge makes this book an important source of information for researchers, policymakers and anyone with an inquiring mind on this subject.
Download or read book Switchgrass Cultivar and Intraspecific Diversity Impacts on Nitrogen Use Efficiency written by Aislinn Johns and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Bioenergy feedstock production is an important component of the national renewable energy strategy, which is based on biomass supply. Biofuels for ethanol production may be produced in high-input crop production systems, but the efficacy of these systems for increasing net energy yields over its full life-cycle compared to traditional fuels is under debate, because it is now evident that the benefits of feedstock production are maximized only when biofuels are derived from feedstocks produced with much lower life-cycle greenhouse-gas emissions than traditional fossil fuels. To this end, the reduction of agricultural inputs is key to developing an effective biofuel feedstock crop. Native prairie grasses have low-input production requirements, and upon land conversion for biofuel production they have positive impacts on belowground carbon (C) sequestration, a measure of soil quality. Specifically, Panicum virgatum (hereafter switchgrass), a perennial C4 grass native to the mid-west of the United States, is a promising bioenergy crop. It has large root systems, which allow it to produce large amounts of biomass with less water and nutrient requirements than traditional bioenergy crops, such as corn. To produce switchgrass feedstock in an environmentally sustainably manner (i.e., with the least amount of fertilizer inputs), we will need to adopt agricultural practices that promote N cycling efficiency in the system. Previous studies have found that different cultivars of switchgrass vary significantly in specific root length (SRL), and greater SRL may be linked to greater N acquisition owing to the root systems' greater surface area. In addition, it has been found that growing switchgrass in genotypically diverse mixtures enhanced biomass production, which may result from belowground niche differentiation and complementarity effects that enhance N acquisition. With this study, I aimed to evaluate (1) whether differences in the architecture among root systems of switchgrass cultivars led to differences in the efficiency of nitrogen uptake, and (2) whether growing switchgrass cultivars in diverse mixtures would enhance the efficiency of nitrogen cycling though niche differentiation and complementarity effects. Our experiment was conducted at the Sustainable Bioenergy Crop Research Facility at the Fermilab National Environmental Research Park, where experimental field plots consisted of seven switchgrass cultivars, planted either in monoculture or in diverse mixtures of 2, 4, or 6 randomly selected cultivars. To evaluate differences in nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) among cultivars in monocultures and among diversity treatments, I applied a stable isotope 15N tracer at the beginning of the growing season. Following senescence, the switchgrass was harvested and the percent of 15N recovered was measured in the aboveground biomass to determine NUE. I found that switchgrass cultivars differed in NUE and these differences could potentially be linked to germplasm origin in relation to the field site. I also found that NUE was not influenced by increases in cultivar diversity. Our results suggest that NUE is not the sole mechanism behind greater biomass production associated with enhanced diversity."--Boise State University ScholarWorks.
Download or read book Soil and Variety Effects on Energy Use and Carbon Emissions Associated with Switchgrass based Ethanol Production in Mississippi written by and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: High biomass production potential, wide adaptability, low input requirement, and low environmental risk make switchgrass an economically and ecologically viable energy crop. The inherent variablity in switchgrass productivity due to variations in soil and variety could affect the sustainability and eco-friendliness of switchgrass-based ethanol production. This study examined the soil and variety effects on these variables. Three locations in Mississippi were selected based on latitude and potential acreage. Using ALMANAC, switchgrass biomass yields were simulated for several scenarios of soils and varities. The simulated yields were fed to IBSAL to compute energy use and CO2 emissions in various operations in the biomass supply From the energy and emissions values, the sustainability and eco-friendliness of ethanol production were determined using net energy value (NEV) and carbon credit balance (CCB) as indicators, respectively. Soil and variety effects on NEV and CCB were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results showed significant differences in NEV and CCB across soils and varieties. Both NEV and CCB increased in the direction of heavier to lighter soils and on the order of north-upland, south-upland, north-lowland, and south-lowland varieties. Only north-upland and south-lowland varieties were significantly significantly different because they were different in both cytotype and ecotype. Gaps between lowland and upland varieties were smaller in a dry year than in a wet year. The NEV and CCB increased in the direction of dry to wet year. From south to north, they decreased for lowland cytotypes but increased for upland cytotypes. Thus, the differences among varieties decreased northwards.
Download or read book Bioenergy Feedstocks written by Malay C. Saha and published by Wiley-Blackwell. This book was released on 2013-06-24 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bioenergy and biofuels are generated from a wide variety of feedstock. Fuels have been converted from a wide range of sources from vegetable oils to grains and sugarcane. Second generation biofuels are being developed around dedicated, non-food energy crops, such as switchgrass and Miscanthus, with an eye toward bioenergy sustainability. Bioenergy Feedstocks: Breeding and Genetics looks at advances in our understanding of the genetics and breeding practices across this diverse range of crops and provides readers with a valuable tool to improve cultivars and increase energy crop yields. Bioenergy Feedstocks: Breeding and Genetics opens with chapters focusing primarily on advances in the genetics and molecular biology of dedicated energy crops. These chapters provide in-depth coverage of new, high-potential feedstocks. The remaining chapters provide valuable overview of breeding efforts of current feedstocks with specific attention paid to the development of bioenergy traits. Coverage in these chapters includes crops such as sorghum, energy canes, corn, and other grasses and forages. The final chapters explore the role of transgenics in bioenergy feedstock production and the development of low-input strategies for producing bioenergy crops. A timely collection of work from a global team of bioenergy researchers and crop scientists, Bioenergy Feedstocks: Breeding and Genetics is an essential reference on cultivar improvement of biomass feedstock crops.
Download or read book Evaluation of Switchgrass M X Giganteus and Sorghum as Biomass Crops Effects of Environment and Field Management Practices written by Matthew W. Maughan and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), Miscanthus x giganteus (M. x giganteus), and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) have been proposed as potential bioenergy feedstock crops. This study evaluates how these crops performs in different environments under different crop management practices, particularly nitrogen (N) fertilizer rates. Chapter 1 provides the rationale of this research and a general discussion of the unique characteristics of these three crops. In Chapter 2, an extensive database of switchgrass biomass yields from 106 sites and 45 field studies in eastern two thirds of the USA and southeastern Canada is evaluated using descriptive statistics, and using a random coefficients model. Switchgrass has been researched extensively in North America as a biomass crop and data reported since the 19900́9s reveal large variability in dry biomass yields which are related to multiple environment and field management practices. This analysis describes switchgrass biomass N response, and shows that in addition to N fertilizer rate the most important factors affecting switchgrass dry biomass yields are growing region, spring precipitation, growing season, ecotype, and harvest timing. Chapter 3 remarks that studies reporting M. x giganteus dry biomass yields to date in the USA are few in number and little information is available to suggest a suitable growing region. This study investigates M. x giganteus in four Midwest and Atlantic Coast environments under three N rates. Establishment success, plant growth, morphology, and dry biomass yields were evaluated and results reveal no response to N rate during the establishment years, large biomass yield differences among environments, and decreased yield when the crop experienced a combination of high heat and dry conditions. Chapter 4 introduces two types of sorghum, forage sorghum and biomass sorghum (referred to as energy sorghum) which have been proposed as crops with high biomass production potential although prior to this study no research had evaluated these sorghum types grown for biomass in IL. This field study evaluated two forage sorghum and two energy sorghum hybrids in four IL environments under different N rates. Measurements of morphology and crop growth were measured throughout the growing season, and dry biomass yields revealed significant differences between the two sorghum types. The energy sorghum hybrids achieved the greatest biomass yields in each environment with the effects of environment and N rate affecting the biomass yields. The results of these studies provide valuable information for stakeholders, producers, and scientists regarding the impact of environment and management practices on biomass yields of switchgrass, M. x giganteus, and sorghum. It is necessary that these factors be evaluated prior to making decisions as to which crop species and which cultivar or hybrid to plant in a given location. In most cases, no regional recommendations for species selection and N fertility rates are adequate and most field management practices must be made on a site-by-site basis.
Download or read book Negative Emissions Technologies and Reliable Sequestration written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2019-04-08 with total page 511 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To achieve goals for climate and economic growth, "negative emissions technologies" (NETs) that remove and sequester carbon dioxide from the air will need to play a significant role in mitigating climate change. Unlike carbon capture and storage technologies that remove carbon dioxide emissions directly from large point sources such as coal power plants, NETs remove carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere or enhance natural carbon sinks. Storing the carbon dioxide from NETs has the same impact on the atmosphere and climate as simultaneously preventing an equal amount of carbon dioxide from being emitted. Recent analyses found that deploying NETs may be less expensive and less disruptive than reducing some emissions, such as a substantial portion of agricultural and land-use emissions and some transportation emissions. In 2015, the National Academies published Climate Intervention: Carbon Dioxide Removal and Reliable Sequestration, which described and initially assessed NETs and sequestration technologies. This report acknowledged the relative paucity of research on NETs and recommended development of a research agenda that covers all aspects of NETs from fundamental science to full-scale deployment. To address this need, Negative Emissions Technologies and Reliable Sequestration: A Research Agenda assesses the benefits, risks, and "sustainable scale potential" for NETs and sequestration. This report also defines the essential components of a research and development program, including its estimated costs and potential impact.
