Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Lincoln, Nebraska » Agroecosystem Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #342445
Title: Crop residues for advanced biofuels workshop: A synposis

Author
item Schmer, Marty
item Karlen, Douglas
item KAFFKA, STEPHEN - University Of California Agriculture And Natural Resources (UCANR)
item CLAY, DAVID - South Dakota State University
item CONLEY, SHAWN - University Of Wisconsin
item DARLINGTON, TOM - Air Improvement Resource, Inc
item HORWATH, WILLIAM - University Of California Agriculture And Natural Resources (UCANR)
item KENDALL, ALISSA - University Of California Agriculture And Natural Resources (UCANR)
item KELLER, ALAN - Poet
item RYDL, FRANK - Dupont Company
item UNNASCH, STEFAN - Life Cycle Associates
item WANG, MICHAEL - Argonne National Laboratory
item VOCASEK, FRED - Servi-Tech Laboratories

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/10/2017
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Crop residues are being harvested for a variety of purposes including their use as livestock feed and to produce advanced biofuels. Crop residue harvesting, by definition, reduces the potential annual carbon input to the soil from aboveground biomass but does not affect input from plant roots. The maintenance or enhancement of soil organic carbon (SOC) is a critical component of building resilience to drought, reducing erosion, and increasing yield. The impact of harvesting crop residue on soil health is influenced by many factors including (but not limited to), harvest rate and frequency, cultivation intensity, remaining soil cover, crop rotation, use of cover crops, soil texture, climatic conditions, initial soil carbon content, and crop yield. Partial corn stover harvest may ameliorate potential grain yield reductions where high residue accumulation can interfere with planting operations, uniformity of stand emergence, and disease incidence within reduced tillage and/or continuous corn fields. The ASA-CSSA-SSSA Societies held a 3-day Workshop in Sacramento, CA to critically review the science about crop residue removal effects on SOC stocks, and how those effects should be included in life-cycle assessment (LCA) models used to estimate the carbon intensity (CI) of residue-derived biofuels. Results from the ‘Crop Residues for Advanced Biofuels Workshop: exploring soil carbon effects’ will be summarized in this presentation.