Watershed‐scale impacts of bioenergy crops on hydrology and water quality using improved SWAT model

Cibin, Raj; Trybula, Elizabeth; Chaubey, Indrajeet; Brouder, Sylvie M.; Volenec, Jeffrey J.

doi:10.1111/gcbb.12307

Title: Watershed‐scale impacts of bioenergy crops on hydrology and water quality using improved SWAT model

Journal Article · Fri Jan 08 00:00:00 EST 2016 · Global Change Biology. Bioenergy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12307· OSTI ID:1256138

Cibin, Raj ^[1]; Trybula, Elizabeth ^[2]; Chaubey, Indrajeet ^[3]; Brouder, Sylvie M. ^[2]; Volenec, Jeffrey J. ^[2]

Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering Purdue University West Lafayette 47907 IN USA
Department of Agronomy Purdue University West Lafayette 47907 IN USA
Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering Purdue University West Lafayette 47907 IN USA

Cellulosic bioenergy feedstock such as perennial grasses and crop residues are expected to play a significant role in meeting US biofuel production targets. Here, we used an improved version of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to forecast impacts on watershed hydrology and water quality by implementing an array of plausible land-use changes associated with commercial bioenergy crop production for two watersheds in the Midwest USA. Watershed-scale impacts were estimated for 13 bioenergy crop production scenarios, including: production of Miscanthus 9 giganteus and upland Shawnee switchgrass on highly erodible landscape positions, agricultural marginal land areas and pastures, removal of corn stover and combinations of these options. We also measured water quality as erosion and sediment loading; this was forecasted to improve compared to baseline when perennial grasses were used for bioenergy production, but not with stover removal scenarios. Erosion reduction with perennial energy crop production scenarios ranged between 0.2% and 59%. Stream flow at the watershed outlet was reduced between 0 and 8% across these bioenergy crop production scenarios compared to baseline across the study watersheds. Our results indicate that bioenergy production scenarios that incorporate perennial grasses reduced the nonpoint source pollutant load at the watershed outlet compared to the baseline conditions (0–20% for nitrate-nitrogen and 3–56% for mineral phosphorus); but, the reduction rates were specific to site characteristics and management practices.

View Journal Article

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC)

Grant/Contract Number:: DE‐EE0004396; EE0004396

OSTI ID:: 1256138

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1256139; OSTI ID: 1363861

Journal Information:: Global Change Biology. Bioenergy, Journal Name: Global Change Biology. Bioenergy Vol. 8 Journal Issue: 4; ISSN 1757-1693

Publisher:: Wiley-BlackwellCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United Kingdom

Language:: English

Citation Metrics:

Cited by: 71 works

Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (30)

A comparison of canopy evapotranspiration for maize and two perennial grasses identified as potential bioenergy crops: COMPARISON OF CANOPY EVAPOTRANSPIRATION Hickman, George C.; Vanloocke, Andy; Dohleman, Frank G. GCB Bioenergy https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1757-1707.2010.01050.x	journal	June 2010
Model Evaluation Guidelines for Systematic Quantification of Accuracy in Watershed Simulations Transactions of the ASABE, Vol. 50, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.23153	journal	January 2007
Modeling Miscanthus in the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to Simulate Its Water Quality Effects As a Bioenergy Crop Ng, Tze Ling; Eheart, J. Wayland; Cai, Ximing Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 44, Issue 18 https://doi.org/10.1021/es9039677	journal	September 2010
Soil microbial biomass, activity and potential nitrogen mineralization in a pasture: Impact of stock camping activity Iyyemperumal, Kannan; Israel, Daniel W.; Shi, Wei Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Vol. 39, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2006.07.002	journal	January 2007
Seasonality of the soil biota of grazed and ungrazed hill grasslands Bardgett, R. D.; Leemans, D. K.; Cook, R. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Vol. 29, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-0717(97)00019-9	journal	August 1997
Large area Hydrologic Modeling and Assessment part i: Model Development Arnold, J. G.; Srinivasan, R.; Muttiah, R. S. Journal of the American Water Resources Association, Vol. 34, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.1998.tb05961.x	journal	February 1998
Assessing Regional Hydrology and Water Quality Implications of Large-Scale Biofuel Feedstock Production in the Upper Mississippi River Basin Demissie, Yonas; Yan, Eugene; Wu, May Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 46, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1021/es300769k	journal	August 2012
Soil organic carbon and nitrogen in a Minnesota soil as related to tillage, residue and nitrogen management Dolan, M. S.; Clapp, C. E.; Allmaras, R. R. Soil and Tillage Research, Vol. 89, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2005.07.015	journal	September 2006
Water quality impact assessment of large-scale biofuel crops expansion in agricultural regions of Michigan Love, Bradley J.; Nejadhashemi, A. Pouyan Biomass and Bioenergy, Vol. 35, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2011.02.041	journal	May 2011
Seasonal nitrogen dynamics of Miscanthus × giganteus and Panicum virgatum Heaton, Emily A.; Dohleman, Frank G.; Long, Stephen P. GCB Bioenergy, Vol. 1, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1757-1707.2009.01022.x	journal	August 2009
Multiple corn stover removal rates for cellulosic biofuels and long-term water quality impacts Thomas, M. A.; Engel, B. A.; Chaubey, I. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, Vol. 66, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.66.6.431	journal	November 2011
A Hydrologic/Water Quality Model Applicati1 Engel, Bernard; Storm, Dan; White, Mike Journal of the American Water Resources Association, Vol. 43, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.2007.00105.x	journal	October 2007
Impact of Biofuel Crop Production on the Formation of Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico Costello, Christine; Griffin, W. Michael; Landis, Amy E. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 43, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1021/es9011433	journal	October 2009
Crop residue is a key for sustaining maximum food production and for conservation of our biosphere Delgado, J. A. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, Vol. 65, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.65.5.111A	journal	September 2010
Soil nitrogen dynamics and crop residues. A review Chen, Baoqing; Liu, EnKe; Tian, Qizhuo Agronomy for Sustainable Development, Vol. 34, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-014-0207-8	journal	February 2014
Corn Stover Removal for Expanded Uses Reduces Soil Fertility and Structural Stability Blanco-Canqui, Humberto; Lal, R. Soil Science Society of America Journal, Vol. 73, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2008.0141	journal	January 2009
Herbivore-Mediated Linkages Between Aboveground and Belowground Communities Bardgett, Richard D.; Wardle, David A. Ecology, Vol. 84, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1890/02-0274	journal	September 2003
Implications for the hydrologic cycle under climate change due to the expansion of bioenergy crops in the Midwestern United States Le, P. V. V.; Kumar, P.; Drewry, D. T. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 108, Issue 37 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1107177108	journal	August 2011
A computationally efficient approach for watershed scale spatial optimization Cibin, R.; Chaubey, I. Environmental Modelling & Software, Vol. 66 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2014.12.014	journal	April 2015
and Switchgrass Production in Central Illinois: Impacts on Hydrology and Inorganic Nitrogen Leaching McIsaac, Gregory F.; David, Mark B.; Illinois, Corey A. Mitchell University of Journal of Environment Quality, Vol. 39, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2009.0497	journal	January 2010
Crop Residue Cover Effects on Evaporation, Soil Water Content, and Yield of Deficit-Irrigated Corn in West-Central Nebraska Transactions of the ASABE, Vol. 53, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.35805	journal	January 2010
Cattle grazing increases microbial biomass and alters soil nematode communities in subtropical pastures Wang, K. -H.; McSorley, R.; Bohlen, P. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Vol. 38, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2005.12.019	journal	July 2006
Simulated watershed scale impacts of corn stover removal for biofuel on hydrology and water quality: WATERSHED SCALE IMPACTS OF CORN STOVER REMOVAL Cibin, R.; Chaubey, I.; Engel, B. Hydrological Processes, Vol. 26, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.8280	journal	September 2011
Soil organic matter and nutrient dynamics in a Kenyan nitisol under long-term fertilizer and organic input management Kapkiyai, Jane J.; Karanja, Nancy K.; Qureshi, Javaid N. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Vol. 31, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-0717(99)00088-7	journal	November 1999
Modeling spatial and dynamic variation in growth, yield, and yield stability of the bioenergy crops Miscanthus × giganteus and Panicum virgatum across the conterminous United States Miguez, Fernando E.; Maughan, Matthew; Bollero, Germán A. GCB Bioenergy, Vol. 4, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1757-1707.2011.01150.x	journal	December 2011
Perennial rhizomatous grasses as bioenergy feedstock in SWAT: parameter development and model improvement Trybula, Elizabeth M.; Cibin, Raj; Burks, Jennifer L. GCB Bioenergy, Vol. 7, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12210	journal	July 2014
Comparison of Potential Bio-Energy Feedstock Production and Water Quality Impacts Using a Modeling Approach Parajuli, Prem B. Journal of Water Resource and Protection, Vol. 04, Issue 09 https://doi.org/10.4236/jwarp.2012.49087	journal	January 2012
Conservation considerations for sustainable bioenergy feedstock production: If, what, where, and how much? Johnson, J. M. F.; Karlen, D. L.; Andrews, S. S. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, Vol. 65, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.65.4.88A	journal	July 2010
The Biology and Agronomy of Switchgrass for Biofuels Parrish, David J.; Fike, John H. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, Vol. 24, Issue 5-6 https://doi.org/10.1080/07352680500316433	journal	September 2005
Residue removal and tillage interaction effects on soil properties under rain-fed corn production in Central Mexico Salinas-Garcia, J. R.; Báez-González, A. D.; Tiscareño-López, M. Soil and Tillage Research, Vol. 59, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-1987(00)00187-2	journal	April 2001

Similar Records

Influence of Bioenergy Crop Production and Climate Change on Ecosystem Services

Journal Article · Tue Oct 24 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Journal of the American Water Resources Association · OSTI ID:1256138

Cibin, Raj; Chaubey, Indrajeet; Muenich, Rebecca L.; +4 more

Perennial rhizomatous grasses as bioenergy feedstock in SWAT: parameter development and model improvement

Journal Article · Fri Jun 13 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Global Change Biology. Bioenergy · OSTI ID:1256138

Trybula, Elizabeth M.; Cibin, Raj; Burks, Jennifer L.; +3 more

Hydrologic and water quality responses to biomass production in the Tennessee river basin

Journal Article · Thu Aug 09 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Global Change Biology. Bioenergy · OSTI ID:1256138

Wang, Gangsheng; Jager, Henriette I.; Baskaran, Latha M.; +1 more

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
bioenergy production
corn stover
environmental impacts of bioenergy
impacts of bioenergy
Miscanthus
SWAT Model
Switchgrass

Title: Watershed‐scale impacts of bioenergy crops on hydrology and water quality using improved SWAT model

Citation Formats

References (30)

Similar Records

Related Subjects