Above- and belowground biomass and soil respiration in a low-input perennial biofuel production system

Authors

Jordan Young, University of Northern IowaFollow
Jessica Abernathy, University of Northern IowaFollow
Kenneth Elgersma, University of Northern IowaFollow

Work/Availability

Open Access Undergraduate Student Work

Type of Work

Poster Presentation

Abstract

Backgroud

• Global climate change largely depends on the atmospheric carbon balance, of which soil respiration is a significant component.
• Native perennial prairie vegetation is being tested as an alternative to corn for renewable biofuel production.
• Mixtures of this vegetation are considered ‘carbon negative’ because net CO2 sequestration exceeds atmospheric release¹.
• Studies have shown that aboveground biomass and the rate of carbon sequestration are both increased by planting a diverse mixture of species versus a monoculture¹.

Research Question:

How does the diversity of biofuel vegetation mixtures affect soil respiration, aboveground biomass and belowground biomass?

Date of Work

2015

Department

Department of Biology

Department

Tallgrass Prairie Center

Repository

UNI ScholarWorks, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa

Copyright

©2015 Jordan Young, Jessica Abernathy, and Kenneth Elgersma

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Young, Jordan; Abernathy, Jessica; and Elgersma, Kenneth, "Above- and belowground biomass and soil respiration in a low-input perennial biofuel production system" (2015). Undergraduate Student Work. 24.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/ugswork/24