6.

5 Residue Harvesting for Biofuel

Production
Concern over increase in the fuel and global warming
caused by the atmospheric CO2 abundance are
among important factors underpinning energy
entrepreneurs to develop alternative and renewable
fuel. Production of cellulosic ethanol based on
renewable biomass or crop residues is one such
option.

Several ethanol plants are envisaged and

soil building crops such as legumes and
other perennials are being replaced by
corn as price of corn and cost of fuel
increase.
While production of liquid biofuels from
biomass is a plausible goal to reduce the
excessive dependence on fossil fuels and
decrease the net emissions of greenhouse
gases, indiscriminate removal of crop
residue for biofuel production.

Retention of crop residue is important to soil erosion control and sus

tained crop production (Lal, 2006). Removal of residues can:

_ deteriorate soil properties,

_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_

reduce soil organic matter concentration,

increase emissions of greenhouse gases,
alter soil water, air, and heat fluxes,
reduce grain and biomass yield,
accelerate soil erosion,
reduce microbial activity,
deplete plant nutrients, and
increase risks of non-point source pollution.

6.5.1 Threshold Level of Residue Removal

In some soils and ecosystems, it might be possible

to remove a portion of crop residues for energy
production and other purposes without adversely
affecting soil functions.
The impacts of crop residue removal on soil
properties, crop yield, soil erosion and water runoff
under different tillage systems are soil specific.
Maximum collection rates of crop residue must be
determined by soil type and ecoregion prior to
undertaking large scale crop residue harvesting for
ethanol production.

6.5.2 Rapid Impacts of Residue Removal

Changes in soil properties as a result of residue
removal can be rapid, depending on the soil and
ecosystem.
A study conducted on the residue management in
Ohio
showed that changes in near-surface soil physical
properties (e.g., crusting, soil
strength, and water content) were immediate
when 25, 50, 75, and 100% of residue
cover from no-till continuous corn was removed
from three contrasting but representative soils in
northeastern, northwestern, and western Ohio
(Fig. 6.5).

excessive or complete residue removal reduces soil

porosity, exacerbates surface crusting and sealing,
increases soil compaction, and reduces soil
organic matter content even within one-year since
initiation of residue removal. Crop residue removal
for biofuel production is not a sustainable practice
in most soils (Blanco-Canqui and Lal, 2007)

6.6 Bioenergy Plantations as an

Alternative to Crop Residue Removal

Because excessive removal of crop residues

exacerbates soil erosion and adversely affects soil
properties, biomass feedstock for biofuel
production must be produced from dedicated or
specific energy plantations established on nonprime agricultural soils (e.g., surplus land,
marginal croplands, degraded soils, minesoils,
wastelands).

Establishing bioenergy plantations is a viable

alternative to removing crop residues from
agricultural soils. Thus, establishing energy
plantations on agriculturally marginal soils
could be beneficial to reducing the
competition for land. Most importantly,
growing warm season grasses as bioenergy
crops may be particularlyimportant in soils
and ecoregions where stover removal
adversely impacts soil characteristics.

Restoration of degraded soils, marginal croplands,

and mined soils by establishing bioenergy
plantations is also an important strategy for
producing bioenergy feedstock while reducing soil
erosion, improving soil properties, and mitigating
climate change. Developing renewable energy
alternatives requires a coherent and integrated
mission among energy industries, biomass
producers, and biotechnological industries.