Productivity of wet soils: Biomass of cultivated and natural vegetation

Technical Report · Thu Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:6558986

Johnston, C A

Wet soils, soils which have agronomic limitations because of excess water, comprise 105 million acres of non-federal land in the conterminous United States. Wet soils which support hydrophytic plants are ''wetlands'', and are some of the most productive natural ecosystems in the world. When both above- and belowground productivity are considered, cattail (Typha latifolia) is the most productive temperate wetland species (26.4 Mg/ha/year). Both cattail and reed (Phragmites australis) have aboveground productivities of about 13 Mg/ha/year. Although average aboveground yields of reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea) are lower (9.5 Mg/ha/year), techniques for its establishment and cultivation are well-developed. Other herbaceous wetland species which show promise as biomass crops include sedge (Carex spp.), river bulrush (Scirpus fluviatilis) and prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata). About 40% of wet soils in the conterminous US are currently cultivated, and they produce one-quarter of the major US crops. Most of this land is artificially drained for crops such as corn, soybeans, and vegetables. US wetlands are drained for agriculture at the rate of 223,000 ha/yr. Paddies flooded with water are used to grow rice, cranberries, and wild rice. Forage and live sphagnum moss are products of undrained wetlands. A number of federal and state regulations apply to the draining or irrigation of wetlands, but most do not seriously restrict their use for agriculture. 320 refs., 36 tabs.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA); Johnston (Carol A.), Duluth, MN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6558986
• Report Number(s): ORNL/Sub-84-18435/1; ON: DE89005711
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
140504* -- Solar Energy Conversion-- Biomass Production & Conversion-- (-1989)
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
BIOMASS
CATTAILS
COASTAL REGIONS
COMPILED DATA
CULTIVATION
DATA
ECOSYSTEMS
ENERGY SOURCES
FRESH WATER
GRASS
GROWTH
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
LILIOPSIDA
MAGNOLIOPHYTA
MARSHES
NUMERICAL DATA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLANT GROWTH
PLANTS
PRODUCTIVITY
REEDS
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
WATER
WETLANDS