Biofuel Crop Sustainability

Biofuel Crop Sustainability brings together the basic principles of agricultural sustainability and special stipulations for biofuels, from the economic and ecological opportunities and challenges of sustainable biofuel crop production to the unique characteristics of particular crops which make them ideal for biofuel applications. This book will be a valuable resource for researchers and professionals involved in biofuels development and production as well as agriculture industry personnel.

Chapters focus the broad principles of resource management for ecological, environmental and societal welfare, the sustainability issues pertaining to several broad categories of biofuel crops , as well as the economics and profitability of biofuels on both a local and international scale. Coverage includes topics such as utilizing waste water for field crop irrigation and algae production, reliability of feedstock supply, marginal lands, and identifying crops with traits of significance for survival and growth on low fertility soils. The development of production practices with low external inputs of fertilizer, irrigation, and pesticides is also covered.

Biofuel Crop Sustainability will be a valuable, up-to-date reference for all those involved in the rapidly expanding biofuels industry and sustainable agriculture research fields.

Contributors vii

Preface xi

1 Biofuel Crop Sustainability Paradigm 3
B.P. Singh

2 Sustainable Production of Grain Crops for Biofuels 31
A.A. Jaradat

3 Sugarcane as an Energy Crop: Its Role in Biomass Economy 53
R. van Antwerpen, S.D. Berry, T. van Antwerpen, J. Smithers, S. Joshi, and M. van der Laan

4 Sustainable Cellulosic Grass Crop Production 109
J.H. Fike, D.J. Parrish, and W.B. Fike

5 Sustainable Oil Crops Production 165
C. Eynck, D. Shrestha, J. Vollmann, K.C. Falk, W. Friedt, H.P. Singh, and E. Obeng

6 Short-rotation Woody Crop Biomass Production for Bioenergy 205
L.C. Kiser and T.R. Fox

7 Biomass Feedstock Production Impact on Water Resource Availability 239
K.C. Stone, P.G. Hunt, K.B. Cantrell, and K.S. Ro

8 Biofuel Crops and Soil Quality and Erosion 261
D. Chatskikh, A. Ovchinnikova, B. Seshadri, and N. Bolan

9 Nutrient Management in Biofuel Crop Production 301
R. Lemus

10 Food, Farming, and Biofuels 325
J. Popp

11 Biofuel Crops, Ecosystem Services, and Biodiversity 357
A. Fieldsend and H.P. Singh

12 Biofuel Crops and Greenhouse Gases 383
A. Hastings, J. Yeluripati, J. Hillier, and P. Smith

13 Economics of Biomass Feedstocks and Biofuels 407
T.A. Maung, C. Gustafson, B. McCarl, D. Ripplinger, and D. Saxowsky

14 Geospatial Modeling Applications for Biofuel Sustainability Assessment 431
S.S. Panda

Appendix I: Botanical Names 449

Index 451

E d i to r
Bharat P. Singh is Professor of Agronomy at Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley,
Georgia, USA.

The principles of sustainable agriculture have been expounded for centuries. The recognition of the need to produce crops in a way that will ensure continued cultivation and reliable food and fuel sources over decades and centuries has never been greater. As the biofuels industry continues to develop, increased scrutiny is being paid to production practices of biomass crops. Biofuel Crop Sustainability serves as a timely collection of the latest research on sustainable strategies and practices in a time of increased demand and competition for arable lands.

Biofuel Crop Sustainability is a broad-ranging reference written by leading researchers in the biofuels community. The book opens with chapters that explore sustainability issues around specific families of biomass crops, such as grains, oilseed crops, grasses, and canes. The final chapters look more broadly at issues common to all biofuel crop production. These chapters cover critical topics like nutrient management, maintaining soil quality, and food versus fuel production issues.

Providing timely coverage of an increasingly critical issue, Biofuel Crop Sustainability will be an essential volume for crop scientists, biofuels researchers, agroecologists, and others looking at the issue of agricultural sustainability.