Soil Carbon Sequestration for a Potential Second Generation Dedicated Biofuel Crop – Giant Reed
| Name | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Cristine Morgan | Co-PI | cmorgan@ag.tamu.edu |
| Dr. Sabine Grunwald | Co-PI | sabgru@ufl.edu |
| Yufeng Ge | Post-Doc., Hydropedology | Cotton Quality, Biofuels, Spectroscopy |
Project Background:
Planting dedicated energy crops in agricultural lands as renewable feedstock has aroused much attention recently, due to imminent fossil fuel depletion and energy crisis. Energy crops have been suggested to stimulate soil carbon storage
in the form of soil organic carbon, which would improve soil quality and provide an interim solution to climate mitigation. Increased levels of soil carbon may enable farmers to receive carbon credits, which would make dedicated energy crops economically favorable. Quantifying the spatial variation of soil organic carbon and the rate of 
its accumulation establishes both scientific and economic foundations of dedicated biofuel cropping systems and the carbon trading market.
Current Objectives:
- Compare the differences of soil organic carbon content in Giant Reed and perennial coastal Bermuda grass
- Quantify the soil organic carbon accumulation rate in the Giant Reed test plots
Funding:
- Biomass Investment Group, Inc.
Presentations
- Ge. Y, C.L.S. Morgan, S. Grunwald, and D. Sarkhot. Comparison of soil organic carbon under a perennial energy crop and Bermuda grass. To be presented in 2008 ASA-SSSA-CSSA Annual Meeting.
For more Information on this project contact: Dr. Cristine Morgan cmorgan@ag.tamu.edu