News Release | American Society of Agronomy

News Release

American Society of Agronomy
5585 Guilford Road • Madison, WI 53711-5801 • 608-273-8080 • Fax 608-273-2021
www.agronomy.org
Twitter | Facebook

NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Hanna Jeske, Associate Director of Marketing and Brand Strategy, 608-268-3972, hjeske@sciencesocieties.org

Analyzing Long-Term Impacts of Biofuel on the Land

Study simulates long-term effects of biofuel production on soil

Madison WI, FEBRUARY 03, 2011 – The growing development and implementation of renewable biofuel energy has considerable advantages over using declining supplies of fossil fuels. However, meeting the demands of a fuel-driven society may require utilizing all biofuel sources including agricultural crop residues. 

While a useful biofuel source, crop residues also play a crucial role in maintaining soil organic carbon stock. This stock of organic carbon preserves soil functions and our global environment as well ensures the sustainable long-term production of biofuel feedstock.
In a study funded by the USDA Agriculture Research Service, scientists analyzed five classical long term experiments. Using a process-based carbon balance model, researchers simulated experiments lasting from 79 to 134 years to predict the potential of no tillage management to maintain soil organic carbon.
Analysis of the experiments indicates that predicted potential long-term effects of changes in management from conventional tillage to no tillage practices provided insights on proposed management options that were not feasible either due to cost or other factors. 
“Harvesting substantial amounts of crop residue under current cropping systems without exogenous carbon (e.g., manure) addition would deplete soil organic carbon, exacerbate risks of soil erosion, increase non-point source pollution, degrade soil, reduce crop yields per unit input of fertilizer and water, and decrease agricultural sustainability,” says Hero Gollany, the author of the study.
Management practices in these experiments ranged from single cropping to two or three year crop rotations; manure, no fertilizer or fertilizer additions; crop residue returned, and crop residue removed. The predictions also factored diverse climates, soil conditions, fertility management, cropping systems, and crop residue removal practices.
The study is available in the January/February 2011 issue of Agronomy Journal.

Agronomy Journal is the flagship journal of the American Society of Agronomy. Articles convey original research in agriculture, natural resources, soil science, crop science, agroclimatology, agronomic modeling, production agriculture, and instrumentation.

The American Society of Agronomy is an international scientific and professional society with its headquarters in Madison, WI. Our members are researchers and trained, certified professionals in the areas of growing our world’s food supply, while protecting our environment. We work at universities, government research facilities and private businesses across the United States and the world.