Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Early Online
    • Archive
    • Subject Collections
  • Info For
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Subscribers
    • Advertisers
  • About
    • About JSWC
    • Editorial Board
    • Permissions
    • Alerts
    • RSS Feeds
    • Contact Us

User menu

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Early Online
    • Archive
    • Subject Collections
  • Info For
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Subscribers
    • Advertisers
  • About
    • About JSWC
    • Editorial Board
    • Permissions
    • Alerts
    • RSS Feeds
    • Contact Us
  • Follow SWCS on Twitter
  • Visit SWCS on Facebook
Research ArticleA Section

Conservation considerations for sustainable bioenergy feedstock production: If, what, where, and how much?

Jane M.F. Johnson, Douglas L. Karlen and Susan S. Andrews
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation July 2010, 65 (4) 88A-91A; DOI: https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.65.4.88A
Jane M.F. Johnson
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Douglas L. Karlen
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Susan S. Andrews
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • References
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Excerpt

The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), investments in lignocellulosic biorefineries by both the Department of Energy (DOE) and commercial entities, as well as many other market, security, and policy drivers, have increased public interest in harvesting nongrain biomass (i.e., crop residues) from our lands. This interest is positive because it is creating investment and entrepreneurial opportunities in many rural communities. However, it has also raised concern among many conservationists because some proponents of lignocellulosic energy may not realize how many important ecosystem services crop residues provide to the land. Crop residues on the soil surface are the first line of defense against the erosive forces of wind and rain. Residues also provide the building blocks for soil organic matter (SOM). As SOM is increased, crop nutrients are cycled more efficiently, soil micro- and macroaggregates are created, soil structure is stabilized, and soil water retention is increased. All these soil functions contribute to increasing crop productivity, water quality and quantity, and air quality. Furthermore, because SOM is >50% carbon (C), building SOM partially mitigates rising levels of an important greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) by C sequestration.

Fortunately, the scientific information base needed to answer the difficult questions of “if,…

Footnotes

  • Jane M.F. Johnson is Research Soil Scientist at the USDA Agricultural Research Service North Central Soil Conservation Research Laboratory, Morris, Minnesota. Douglas L. Karlen is Supervisory Soil Scientist and Research Leader at the USDA Agricultural Research Service National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, Ames, Iowa. Susan S. Andrews is Ecologist and Leader at the National Soil Quality Technology Development Team and Director of the National Plant Data Center, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Greensboro, North Carolina.

    • © 2010 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
    PreviousNext
    Back to top

    In this issue

    Journal of Soil and Water Conservation: 65 (4)
    Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
    Vol. 65, Issue 4
    July/August 2010
    • Table of Contents
    • About the Cover
    • Index by author
    • Front Matter (PDF)
    Download PDF
    Article Alerts
    Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
    Email Article

    Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.

    NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

    Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
    Conservation considerations for sustainable bioenergy feedstock production: If, what, where, and how much?
    (Your Name) has sent you a message from Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
    (Your Name) thought you would like to see the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation web site.
    CAPTCHA
    This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
    9 + 8 =
    Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
    Citation Tools
    Conservation considerations for sustainable bioenergy feedstock production: If, what, where, and how much?
    Jane M.F. Johnson, Douglas L. Karlen, Susan S. Andrews
    Journal of Soil and Water Conservation Jul 2010, 65 (4) 88A-91A; DOI: 10.2489/jswc.65.4.88A

    Citation Manager Formats

    • BibTeX
    • Bookends
    • EasyBib
    • EndNote (tagged)
    • EndNote 8 (xml)
    • Medlars
    • Mendeley
    • Papers
    • RefWorks Tagged
    • Ref Manager
    • RIS
    • Zotero
    Request Permissions
    Share
    Conservation considerations for sustainable bioenergy feedstock production: If, what, where, and how much?
    Jane M.F. Johnson, Douglas L. Karlen, Susan S. Andrews
    Journal of Soil and Water Conservation Jul 2010, 65 (4) 88A-91A; DOI: 10.2489/jswc.65.4.88A
    del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
    • Tweet Widget
    • Facebook Like
    • Google Plus One

    Jump to section

    • Article
    • Info & Metrics
    • References
    • PDF

    Related Articles

    • No related articles found.
    • Google Scholar

    Cited By...

    • Performance assessment of the cellulose absorption index method for estimating crop residue cover
    • Effects of site-specific factors on corn stover removal thresholds and subsequent environmental impacts in the Upper Mississippi River Basin
    • Recent advances in precision (target) conservation
    • Multiple corn stover removal rates for cellulosic biofuels and long-term water quality impacts
    • Conservation practices to mitigate and adapt to climate change
    • Crop residue is a key for sustaining maximum food production and for conservation of our biosphere
    • Google Scholar

    More in this TOC Section

    A Section

    • Developing cover crop systems for California almonds: Current knowledge and uncertainties
    • Flooding: Management and risk mitigation
    • Twenty years of conservation effects assessment in the St. Joseph River watershed, Indiana
    Show more A Section

    Ideas & Innovations

    • USDA Agricultural Research Service creates Nutrient Uptake and Outcome Network (NUOnet)
    • Circles of live buffer strips in a center pivot to improve multiple ecosystem services and sustainability of irrigated agriculture in the southern Great Plains
    • Development of a new long-term drought resilient soil water retention technology
    Show more Ideas & Innovations

    Similar Articles

    Content

    • Current Issue
    • Early Online
    • Archive
    • Subject Collections

    Info For

    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Subscribers
    • Advertisers

    Customer Service

    • Subscriptions
    • Permissions and Reprints
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy

    SWCS

    • Membership
    • Publications
    • Meetings and Events
    • Conservation Career Center

    © 2023 Soil and Water Conservation Society