Cover crops and composting can offset carbon loss from corn stover ethanol production
Read the full post at Biopact.
As the United States continues to develop alternative energy methods and push towards energy independence, cellulosic-based ethanol has emerged as one of the most commercially viable technologies. Corn stover remains the most popular source available, but the loss of soil organic carbon (SOC) associated with the removal of corn fodder as a cellulosic ethanol feedstock is of agricultural and environmental concern. In a recently published article, researchers found that it may be wiser to replace corn with energy crops like miscanthus and switchgrass, because they not only yield more biomass, they also build carbon in soils, instead of removing it (previous post).