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Comparison of Miscanthus and Switchgrass Cultivars for Biomass Yield, Soil Nutrients, and Nutrient Removal in Northwest Spain

J. A. Oliveira,C. West,E. Afif,P. Palencia

Published 2017 in Agronomy Journal

ABSTRACT

Agronomy Journa l • Volume 109, I s sue 1 • 2017 Hybrid miscanthus and switchgrass have been suggested as high-yielding, low-input bioenergy feedstocks (Dohleman and Long, 2009; Heaton et al., 2008). Miscanthus and switchgrass can produce abundant biomass in Mediterranean conditions, but irrigation is needed to match their summer growth patterns (Curt, 2009). Atlantic maritime infl uence in northwestern Spain of summer rainfall and cooler temperatures would potentially provide a more favorable climate for these grasses compared with the Mediterranean conditions of central and southern Spain; however, their relative productive potentials and eff ects on soil in northwestern Spain are unknown (Hernández Díaz-Ambrona and Fuertes Sánchez, 2011). Miscanthus and switchgrass are widely adapted across subhumid to humid environments (Lewandowski et al., 1998; Sanderson et al., 1996), but sideby-side comparisons of these grasses and cultivars over several years are needed to predict the economic and biological potential of widespread exploitation. Switchgrass, native to North America, is a warm-season (C4) perennial grass whose wide adaptation is due partly to the wide genotypic variation within switchgrass populations and cultivars (Casler et al., 2007). Miscanthus is a high-yielding perennial grass (C4) native to Asia and introduced in Europe in the 1930s (Linde-Laursen, 1993). Plantings are clonal, therefore plants within a cultivated population lack genotypic variability. Although it is commonly stated that miscanthus has a higher yield potential than switchgrass (Clift on-Brown et al., 2001), only a few studies have compared them across the United States and Europe (Aravindhakshan et al., 2010; Heaton et al., 2004a; Khanna et al., 2008; Kiniry et al., 2012, 2013), and sometimes with contrasting results. Switchgrass showed higher annual yields in the fi rst 2 yr aft er establishment, aft er which the productivity of miscanthus was signifi cantly greater than switchgrass from 3 to 6 yr (14.96 Mg ha–1 vs. 11.93 Mg ha–1, respectively; Lasorella et al., 2011). Likewise, the yield advantage of miscanthus over switchgrass cultivars in the Midwest United States disappeared further South, where water and nutrients become more limiting (Kiniry et al., 2012). It is important to assess these crops in side-by-side fi eld trials to remove confounding environmental eff ects when comparing to literature sources that did not involve a common environment. Comparison of Miscanthus and Switchgrass Cultivars for Biomass Yield, Soil Nutrients, and Nutrient Removal in Northwest Spain

PUBLICATION RECORD

  • Publication year

    2017

  • Venue

    Agronomy Journal

  • Publication date

    Unknown publication date

  • Fields of study

    Agricultural and Food Sciences, Environmental Science

  • Identifiers
    DOI 10.2134/AGRONJ2016.07.0440
  • External record

    Open on Semantic Scholar

  • Source metadata

    Semantic Scholar

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