Simulating and evaluating best management practices for integrated landscape management scenarios in biofuel feedstock production
- Argonne National Laboratory Lemont IL 60439 USA
Sound crop and land management strategies can maintain land productivity and improve the environmental sustainability of agricultural crop and feedstock production. This study evaluates a strategy of incorporating landscaping design and management concepts into bioenergy feedstock production. It examines the effect of land conversion and agricultural best management practices (BMPs) on water quality (nutrients and suspended sediments) and hydrology. The strategy was applied to the watershed of the South Fork Iowa River in Iowa, where the focus was on converting low-productivity land to provide cellulosic biomass and implementing riparian buffers. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was employed to simulate the impact at watershed and subbasin scales. The study compared the representation of buffers using trapping efficiency and area ratio methods in SWAT. Landscape design and management scenarios were developed to quantify water quality under (1) current land use, (2) partial land conversion to switchgrass, and (3) riparian buffer implementation. Results show that when low-productivity land (15.2% of total watershed land area) is converted to grow switchgrass, suspended sediment, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and nitrate loadings are reduced by 69.3%, 55.5%, 46.1%, and 13.4%, respectively. The reduction was less extensive when 1.9% of agricultural land area was implemented with riparian buffers. Water quality improves as buffer area coverage increases. Results highlight the significant role of lower-productivity land conversion to cellulosic biomass and provide insights into the design of integrated landscape with conservation buffer for future bioenergy feedstock production.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-06CH11357
- OSTI ID:
- 1234076
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1221764; OSTI ID: 1234077; OSTI ID: 1391724
- Journal Information:
- Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining, Journal Name: Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining Vol. 9 Journal Issue: 6; ISSN 1932-104X
- Publisher:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
Similar Records
Land management strategies for improving water quality in biomass production under changing climate
Selecting Metrics for Sustainable Bioenergy Feedstocks