Potential environmental impacts of bioenergy crop production. Background paper

Technical Report · Wed Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1993

OSTI ID:5745351

Bioenergy crops have the potential to improve the environment, increase rural incomes, and reduce Federal budget deficits and the U.S. trade imbalance. In the wake of the devastating Midwest floods, bioenergy crops may also offer a more robust crop for flood-prone regions. Bioenergy crops include annual row crops such as corn, herbaceous perennial grasses (herbaceous energy crops--HECs) such as switchgrass, and short-rotation woody crops (SRWCs) such as poplar. HECs are analogous to growing hay, harvesting the crop for energy rather than for forage. SRWCs typically consist of a plantation of closely spaced (2 to 3 meters apart on a grid) trees that are harvested on a cycle of 3 to 10 years.

• Research Organization: Office of Technology Assessment (U.S. Congress), Washington, DC (United States)
• OSTI ID: 5745351
• Report Number(s): PB-94-107521/XAB; OTA-BP-E-118
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Also available from Supt. of Docs
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
BIOMASS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
BUDGETS
CROPS
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
FLOODS
FORAGE
FUELS
GLOBAL ASPECTS
HARVESTING
INCOME
MAIZE
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
POLLUTION ABATEMENT
RURAL AREAS
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
TREES
ANIMAL FEEDS
CEREALS
DISASTERS
ECONOMICS
ENERGY SOURCES
FOOD
GRAMINEAE
LILIOPSIDA
MAGNOLIOPHYTA
PLANTS
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
090700* - Biomass Fuels- Resources- (1990-)
095000 - Biomass Fuels- Environmental Aspects- (1990-)
093000 - Biomass Fuels- Economic
Industrial
& Business Aspects- (1990-)