Progress 11/19/14 to 09/30/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Given New York State's abundant water resources, large marginal land resource base and a large population base that can benefit from energy products, a sustainable bioenergy system will produce benefits and thus beneficiaries on multiple scales. The primary target audiences are comprised of potential feedstock producers, their advisors (such as certified crop advisors, cooperative extension educators, and soil & water conservation district personnel) as well as those formulating bioenergy policy and those assessing production potentials and impacts. Collaboration with the NE regional bioenergy consortium NEWBio has provided a broad field of researchers and educators active in the bioenergy space. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project provided first exposure to miscanthus and/or soil analysis for a number of students who assisted with the planting and soil assessments, including Cristina Lens (a student intern from Venezuela), and about a dozen students from both the Cornell Soil & Water Group and the Plant Breeding summer team. The project contributed partial support related to completion of a PhD dissertation (Das, Srabani, 2017. Soil carbon dynamics in wetness-prone marginal soils under perennial grass bioenergy crops of northeastern United States. Ph.D. Dissertation, Cornell University.) How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?As noted in products (cc:d below) examples include representations to two tour groups (all completely new to miscanthus, it should be noted) and the NE regional bioenergy consortium NEWBio. Richards, B. K., C. Mason, S. Das, C. R. Stoof, R. Crawford, J. Hansen, J. Crawford, T. S. Steenhuis, M. T. Walter, D. R. Viands. Research poster: Perennial Grass Bioenergy Feedstocks on Wetness-Prone Marginal Soils. MABEX 2017 Mid-Atlantic Biomass Energy Conference & Expo. State College, PA. September 13, 2017. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.26858.41921 Richards, B. 2017. Bioenergy production on marginal lands. Field site tour for student and faculty group from AERES, Dronten, the Netherlands. Cornell University, April 27, 2017, Ithaca, NY. Richards, B. K. Sustainable perennial grass bioenergy production on marginal soils of New York. Field site tour for National Hay Association 122nd Annual Conference. Cornell University, September 29, 2017, Ithaca, NY. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Under Objective 1, we have continued to expand and analyze the large dataset acquired to date to identify trends in soil health parameters that correspond to land use changes related to perennial grass bioenergy production. In summer 2016 we conducted a comprehensive sampling and key soil health parameter analysis of all 88 subplots at the primary site. Sampling and analysis included bulk density measurements of the Ap horizon. Data analysis and synthesis with this later data is still underway, including comparison across treatments and over time, given that measurements began in 2011. One key factor of interest has been available carbon (or permanganate oxidizable carbon, POXC) used as an indicator of labile C. Initial plowdown of the long-term fallow at the site in 2011 has resulted in losses of soil C that have persisted into 2016, but as of 2016 the POXC levels have recovered, which may be a promising leading indicator of soil C recovery. Soil C recovery has been slow, in part due to the multi-year establishment challenges at the site. Switchgrass uniformity and productivity reached new highs in 2016 (despite severe drought conditions during the growing season) and we expect these increases to gradually be reflected in soils. Harvest in 2017 took place after the project formally ended but those data are being incorporated into a forthcoming paper on crop establishment and yields. Soil carbon trends from 2011 through 2014 were part of Srabani Das' completed Ph.D. dissertation (2017) and resulting paper (currently in press, 2018) cited elsewhere. Analysis and publication of these data are continuing. For Objective 2, two 0.4-acre plots adjacent to our large marginal land perennial grass bioenergy system (which includes switchgrass plots and fallow controls) were developed in 2015. Soil moisture surveys were continued in order to characterize the four permanent sampling subplots on each plot (a total of 8) intended to capture the range of prevailing soil moisture conditions at the site, which range from poorly drained to the dry end of somewhat poorly drained. Development in 2015 (following mowing in fall 2014) included spraying with glyphosate to suppress the existing grass sod (primarily reed canarygrass), moldboard plowing, and disking several times in the following two weeks. Three-foot square planting grids were laid out, and nearly 4,000 Miscanthus X giganteus (v. Illinois clone) rhizomes were hand-planted on May 22 and 29 (the latter date for plot areas that were too wet for earlier planting). Wetter-than-average conditions continued throughout the early summer, with standing water a frequent occurrence in the wettest areas, consistent with their wetness-prone marginal soil status. June 2015 emergence assessments found that the wettest areas experienced severe establishment losses, while adjacent but slightly higher (and thereby better drained) areas had good establishment and development. (An early observation is that wetter areas may be better served with a ridge planting approach to reduce submersion risks.) Plots were not harvested in 2015 due to expected low first-year yields. First-winter stand losses appeared minimal given abnormally mild overwinter conditions. Glyphosate for weed control was again sprayed on April 28, 2016 while miscanthus was still dormant. As an initial test of replanting, one area of failed plants (due to wetness in 2015) in plot Q was replanted on June 3, 2016 using large Illinois transplants lifted from another field. In place of marked furrows, slightly raised hills were used. However, in contrast to 2015, growing season conditions in 2016 were severe-to-extreme drought. Nevertheless, these transplants survived with only two to three waterings. Already-established miscanthus tillered and grew despite the drought (albeit less than would have occurred in an optimal year). Subplot-based yield analysis showed that miscanthus yields in the four drier subplots (where establishment was successful) were 2.5 +/- 0.46 dry tons per acre in comparison to 0.5 +/- 0.4 t/ac in the four wetter failed subplots and 0.77 +/- 0.33 t/ac of mixed biomass in the fallow grass/forbs control plots (control yields depressed by 50% from past years by the drought). Growth in 2017 was robust in the better-drained field areas, with total plant heights approaching 12 feet by the end of the growing season. Substantial additional tillering was observed (e.g. the hill from one original rhizome had 40 shoots in late 2017). Harvest was delayed until early November 2017 (after the formal end of the project) and final data analysis is yet underway. Included in this will be correlation of yields with two data series. The first is adapting the spatial topographic index (TWI, based on topography derived from LIDAR ground radar databases) as an analogue of soil wetness based on relative topographic position. The second data series will be based on a series of aerial imagery sets captured by low-altitude drone (sUAS). (This was the first full growing season for which required clearance had been obtained, needed due to airspace restrictions triggered by airport proximity.) For example, the stark color contrast of mature seedheads will be tested as one way to estimate stalk density. Overall, the project is demonstrating that while miscanthus is more sensitive than switchgrass at the wettest end of the marginal soil spectrum (in "poorly drained" soils, where switchgrass can flourish albeit at a slower rate to reach full canopy dominance), under slightly drier soils (e.g. somewhat poorly drained) it can flourish. This is despite wildly variable growing season conditions, which for the three years of this project were wet to extremely wet (years 1 and 3), with the middle year being a near-historic drought. Nevertheless, at project's end the non-saturated areas of the field plots have well-established miscanthus that we anticipate will continue to tiller and increase in plant density and yield in subsequent years.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Das, S., K. Teuffer, C.R. Stoof, M. T. Walter, T. Steenhuis, M. F. Walter, B. K. Richards. 2018. Perennial grass bioenergy cropping on wet marginal land: impacts on soil properties, soil organic carbon and biomass during initial establishment. In press, BioEnergy Research BERE-D-17-00258-R1.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Richards, B. K., C. Mason, S. Das, C. R. Stoof, R. Crawford, J. Hansen, J. Crawford, T. S. Steenhuis, M. T. Walter, D. R. Viands. Research poster: Perennial Grass Bioenergy Feedstocks on Wetness-Prone Marginal Soils. MABEX 2017 Mid-Atlantic Biomass Energy Conference & Expo. State College, PA. September 13, 2017. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.26858.41921
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Das, Srabani, 2017. Soil carbon dynamics in wetness-prone marginal soils under perennial grass bioenergy crops of northeastern United States. Ph.D. Dissertation, Cornell University
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Richards, B. K. Sustainable perennial grass bioenergy production on marginal soils of New York. Field site tour for National Hay Association 122nd Annual Conference. Cornell University, September 29, 2017, Ithaca, NY.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Richards, B. 2017. Bioenergy production on marginal lands. Field site tour for student and faculty group from AERES, Dronten, the Netherlands. Cornell University, April 27, 2017, Ithaca, NY.
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Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16
Outputs
Target Audience:Given New York State's abundant water resources, large marginal land resource base and a large population base that can benefit from energy products, a sustainable bioenergy system will produce benefits and thus beneficiaries on multiple scales. The primary target audiences are comprised of potential feedstock producers, their advisors (such as certified crop advisors, cooperative extension educators, and soil & water conservation district personnel) as well as those formulating bioenergy policy and those assessing production potentials and impacts. Changes/Problems:Stand losses from high soil wetness were not unexpected, as part of our goal of helping to define "how wet is too wet" for successful establishment. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project provided first exposure to miscanthus and/or soil analysis for a number of students who assisted with the planting and soil assessments, including Cristina Lens (a student intern from Venezuela), students from both the Cornell Soil & Water Group and the Plant Breeding summer team. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Findings to date have been shared at the annual meeting of the USDA/NIFA-funded NEWBio Northeast bioenergy consortium (Penn State) as well as at the annual USDA/NIFA Sustainable Bioenergy Project Director's Meeting (New Orleans, LA). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Ongoing yield assessments, weed control, and continued soil analysis synthesis and reporting will take place in 2016-17, as well as replanting failed areas in the plots.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Under Objective 1, we have continued to expand and analyze the large dataset acquired to date to identify trends in soil health parameters that correspond to land use changes related to perennial grass bioenergy production. In summer 2016 we conducted a comprehensive sampling and key soil health parameter analysis of all 88 subplots at the primary site. Sampling and analysis included bulk density measurements of the Ap horizon. Data analysis and synthesis is still underway, including comparison across treatments and over time, given that measurements began in 2011. One key factor of interest has been available carbon (or permanganate oxidizable carbon, POXC) used as an indicator of labile C. Initial plowdown of the long-term fallow at the site in 2011 has resulted in losses of soil C that have persisted into 2016, but as of 2016 the POXC levels have recovered, which may be a promising leading indicator of soil C recovery. Soil C recovery has been slow, in part due to the multi-year establishment challenges at the site. Switchgrass uniformity and productivity reached new highs in 2016 (despite severe drought conditions during the growing season) and we expect these increases to gradually be reflected in soils. For Objective 2, two 0.4-acre plots adjacent to our large marginal land perennial grass bioenergy system (which includes switchgrass plots and fallow controls) were developed in 2015. Soil moisture surveys were continued in order to characterize the four permanent sampling subplots on each plot (a total of 8) intended to capture the range of prevailing soil moisture conditions at the site, which range from poorly drained to the dry end of somewhat poorly drained. Development in 2015 (following mowing in fall 2014) included spraying with glyphosate to suppress the existing grass sod (primarily reed canarygrass), moldboard plowing, and disking several times in the following two weeks. Three-foot square planting grids were laid out, and nearly 4,000 Miscanthus X giganteus (v. Illinois clone) rhizomes were hand-planted on May 22 and 29 (the latter date for plot areas that were too wet for earlier planting). Wetter-than-average conditions continued throughout the early summer, with standing water a frequent occurrence in the wettest areas, consistent with their wetness-prone marginal soil status. June 2015 emergence assessments found that the wettest areas experienced severe establishment losses, while adjacent but slightly higher (and thereby better drained) areas had good establishment and development. (An early observation is that wetter areas may be better served with a ridge planting approach to reduce submersion risks.) Plots were not harvested in 2015 due to expected low first-year yields. First-winter stand losses appeared minimal given abnormally mild overwinter conditions. Glyphosate for weed control was again sprayed on April 28, 2016 while miscanthus was still dormant. As an initial test of replanting, one area of failed plants (due to wetness in 2015) in plot Q was replanted on June 3, 2016 using large Illinois transplants lifted from another field. In place of marked furrows, slightly raised hills were used. However, in contrast to 2015, growing season conditions in 2016 were severe-to-extreme drought. Nevertheless, these transplants survived with only two to three waterings. Already-established miscanthus tillered and grew despite the drought (albeit less than would have occurred in an optimal year). Subplot-based yield analysis showed that miscanthus yields in the four drier subplots (where establishment was successful) were 2.5 +/- 0.46 dry tons per acre in comparison to 0.5 +/- 0.4 t/ac in the four wetter failed subplots and 0.77 +/- 0.33 t/ac of mixed biomass in the fallow grass/forbs control plots (control yields depressed by 50% from past years by the drought). We expect substantial additional tillering and yield increases in 2017 and 2018, and are planning for a larger-scale ridge-based replanting in failed wet areas.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Richards, B. K., C. Mason, S. Das, C. R. Stoof, R. Crawford, J. Hansen, H. S. Mayton, J. Crawford, T. S. Steenhuis, M. T. Walter, D. R. Viands. 2016. Sustainable Perennial Grass Bioenergy Production on Marginal Lands of the Northeast: Six Years and Counting. Invited presentation, USDA Sustainable Bioenergy Program Project Director Meeting, New Orleans, LA. October 19, 2016. DOI:10.13140/RG.2.2.30276.01926
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Richards, B. K., C. R. Stoof, C. Mason, S. Das, R. Crawford, J. Hansen, J. Crawford, H. S. Mayton, T. S. Steenhuis, M. T. Walter, D. R. Viands. Research poster: Perennial Grass Bioenergy Feedstocks on Wetness-Prone Marginal Soils. NEWBio Northeastern US Bioenergy Consortium Annual Meeting Poster Session, July 27, 2016. State College, PA. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.1225.1123
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Das, S., R.E. Thomas, T.S. Steenhuis, M.F. Walter, B.K Richards. 2015. Soil carbon changes in a wetness-prone perennial grass bioenergy field of Northeastern United States. Poster #7363, American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting December 14, 2015.
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Progress 11/19/14 to 09/30/15
Outputs
Target Audience:Given New York State's abundant water resources, large marginal land resource base and a large population base that can benefit from energy products, a sustainable bioenergy system will produce benefits and thus beneficiaries on multiple scales. The primary target audiences are comprised of potential feedstock producers, their advisors (such as certified crop advisors, cooperative extension educators, and soil & water conservation district personnel) as well as those formulating bioenergy policy and those assessing production potentials and impacts. Changes/Problems:Stand losses from high soil wetness were not unexpected, as part of our goal of helping to define "how wet is too wet" for successful establishment. As noted above, we may investigate whether ridge-planting will help overcome first season losses in these wetness-prone soils. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project provided first exposure to miscanthus for a number of students who assisted with the planting and initial assessments, including a NEWBio-funded Summer Bioenergy Scholar, Logan Rohr, a cadre of student interns from Brazil, students from both the Cornell Soil & Water Group and the Plant Breeding summer team, and renewable energy technology students from SUNY Morrisville. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Initial project establishment and preliminary findings have been shared at the annual meeting of the USDA/NIFA-funded NEWBio Northeast bioenergy consortium (Morgantown, WV) as well as at the annual USDA/NIFA Sustainable Bioenergy Project Director's Meeting (Denver, CO). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?First-winter stand losses will be assessed in the spring of 2016, and replanting to fill holes will take place as needed. Ongoing yield assessments, weed control, and continued soil monitoring will take place in 2016.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Under Objective 1, we have continued to analyze the large dataset acquired to date to identify trends in soil health parameters that correspond to land use changes related to perennial grass bioenergy production. We met and conducted joint field sampling with visiting scholars from the University of Wageningen (including Professor Cathelijne Stoof, formerly a post-doc on this overall program) to begin collaborative work on the links between simple visual soil assessments and quantitative soil health measurements. For Objective 2, wet soil conditions in the fall of 2015 prevented our hoped-for opportunity for early plowing, but other site layout and planning work proceeded, including detailed soil moisture surveys and end-of-season mowing. Two 0.4-acre plots were identified adjacent to our large marginal land perennial grass bioenergy system described in the proposal, which includes switchgrass plots and fallow controls, including one control plot that is immediately adjacent to the new miscanthus plots. In the spring of 2015, soil moisture surveys were continued in order to optimally locate four permanent sampling subplots on each plot (a total of 8) that capture the range of prevailing soil moisture conditions at the site, which range from poorly drained to the dry end of somewhat poorly drained. Once identified, these subpots were sampled and marked prior to field operations. The plots were then sprayed with Roundup on May 6 to suppress the existing grass sod (primarily reed canarygrass), and then moldboard plowed on May 8, and disked several times in the following two weeks. Three-foot square planting grids were laid out, and nearly 4,000 Miscanthus X giganteus (v. Illinois clone) rhizomes were hand-planted on May 22 and 29 (the latter date for plot areas that were too wet for earlier planting). Wetter-than-average conditions continued throughout the early summer, with standing water a frequent occurrence in the wettest areas, consistent with their wetness-prone marginal soil status. June 2015 emergence assessments found that the wettest areas experienced severe establishment losses, while adjacent but slightly higher (and thereby better drained) areas had good establishmet and development. Areas of heavy losses were replanted on July 24. An early observation is that wetter areas may be better served with a ridge planting approach to reduce submersion risks. Overall crop establishment proceeded well, with only moderate weed pressure gradually developing. Plots were not harvested due to expected low first-year yields. First-winter stand losses will be assessed in the spring, and replanting to fill holes will take place as needed. Repeated soil emissions chamber campaigns were carried out in 2015 to track soil nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide emissions following sod plowdown and subsequent crop establishment.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Rohr, L. Richards, B. K., C. Mason, S. Das, R. Crawford, J. Crawford, G. Bergstrom, S. Kenaly. 2015. Research Poster: Impacts of Soil Moisture on Bioenergy Crop Production. NEWBio Bioenergy Consortium Annual Meeting Poster Session, Tuesday August 4, 2015. West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Richards, B. K., C. R. Stoof, C. Mason, R. Crawford, H. S. Mayton, S. Das, J. Hansen, J. Crawford, T. S. Steenhuis, M. T. Walter, D. R. Viands. Research Poster: Carbon sequestration and gaseous emissions in perennial grass bioenergy cropping systems in the Northeastern US. NEWBio Bioenergy Consortium Annual Meeting Poster Session, Tuesday August 4, 2015. West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV.
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