"Long-term Productivity of Production-scale, High-diversity Prairie Bio" by Kathleen L. Madsen, Mark E. Sherrard et al.
 

Faculty Publications

Long-term Productivity of Production-scale, High-diversity Prairie Biomass Feedstocks

Document Type

Article

Keywords

Bioenergy, biomass, productivity, switchgrass, tallgrass prairie

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Biofuels

Abstract

Concerns over climate change and resource usage have increased interest in the use of prairie biomass as a form of alternative energy. In this study, we examined productivity and weed resistance in four potential prairie biomass feedstocks with varying diversity (a switchgrass monoculture; a 5- species mixture of C4 grasses; a 16-species mixture of C4 grasses, forbs and legumes; and a 32-species mixture of C4 grasses, C3 grasses, forbs, and legumes) over a 10-year period. Each feedstock was specifically designed for high productivity. Four replicate production-scale (0.33–0.56 ha) plots were planted of each feedstock on three soil types. Productivity was assessed by hand-harvesting vegetation each year. Feedstocks had similar productivity over the study period (6.4– 7.5Mg·ha−1·year−1); however, the relative ranking of the four feedstocks differed across soil types. The 32-species feedstock had the highest interannual variation in biomass production. The switchgrass monoculture had the highest percentage of weed (unseeded species) biomass, and this percentage increased dramatically over the study period. The results indicate that high-diversity prairie biomass feedstocks are productive across a range of soil types but species composition should be specifically tailored to site conditions to maximize long-term productivity and resistance to weed invasion.

Department

Department of Biology

Original Publication Date

2-15-2025

DOI of published version

10.1080/17597269.2025.2460133

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