Hay meadows: Biofuels for Biodiversity?

Maize (corn) as a biofuel

Do the energetics balance?

Switchgrass has advantages over maize

•Locally adapted•High genetic variation•High water use efficiency•High nitrogen use efficiency•Perennial•Low erosion

However, introducing a new monoculture may be a mistake.

Problems with monocultures:•Disease•Unstable production•Costly (energetics as well as money)•No nitrogen-fixing legumes•Nature abhors a monoculture•Plowing means enhanced soil respiration, hence this is not a good solution for global warming

Switchgrass as the ‘next crop’

• A California biotech company Ceres is genetically modifying switchgrass with genes from Arabidopsis to maximize yield.

• “You could turn Oklahoma into an OPEC member by converting all its farmland to switch grass”, said Richard W. Hamilton, the Ceres chief executive. – NY Times, 8 September 2006

• Productivity is measured in yield – not the most energetically relevant measure.

• Wild switchgrass is everywhere in much of North America. Keeping transgenes from crossing with native switchgrass will prove impossible.

Hay meadows in Oklahoma

Abandonment of grasslands

Vast acreages of hay meadows in the southern Great Plains are being abandoned, resulting in degraded systems of low value.

Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) is the main species

invading unmanaged grasslands

Cedar pollen causes severe allergy problems

Cedars represent an extreme fire danger problem

Cedars also:• Alter hydrology• Reduce diversity• Increase erosion• Reduce grassland bird populations

(including threatened species)

(however, cedars have uses – and there are genuine old-growth cedar stands in Oklahoma)

Biodiversity and biomass removal in

grasslands

Many grasslands developed under a regime of biomass removal

Laeletu wooded meadow, Estonia

Mowing is a frequently used management tool

to enhance biodiversity worldwide

In many cases, the cuttings are considered waste.

Why not use them?

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GATE A B C D E F G H I J K L

ROAD

Mowing experiment, western Payne County

Established 1996

Year of Sampling

Mean

sp

ecie

s r

ich

ness

1997 1998 1999 2004 2005

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Mowing frequency

Control

Single

Double

Triple

Will hay meadows, with complex species mixtures,

work as biofuels?

Probably, using gasification techniques.

Biofuels may make control of exotic species such as Johnsongrass or sericea cost-effective.

Multi-use systems are possible: biofuels are potentially compatible with livestock, honey, wildlife (game and nongame), conservation, windfarms

Numerous areas are subject to Nitrogen pollution

Why not take advantage of this, and harvest the enhanced productivity?

•Yield / acre: probably lower than other proposed biofuels such as switchgrass

•Yield / cost, Yield / water, yield / Nitrogen: probably higher than other proposed biofuels

•Benefits / cost: definitely much higher than other proposed biofuels

Productivity of haymeadows

Other Environmental and Social Concerns with biofuels:

• Competes with food production• Clearing of Amazon or other pristine areas• Encouraging invasive species• Transportation of fuels

These are minimal issues with native hay meadows

Basic and theoretical ecology can benefit from interest in grasslands as biofuels.

Note that geology, hydrology, physics and chemistry have all experienced major advances because of energy.

Conclusions: an equationA need to decrease dependence of fossil fuels for

environmental and geopolitical stability

+abandoned grasslands leading to environmental, health, and

public safety problems+

serious concerns about biofuel crops

=Let us use our grasslands as a source of

biofuels, for a sustainable economy and environment