Bioenergy is given an important role in reaching national and international climate change targets. However, uncertainties relating to emission reductions and the timeframe for these reductions are increasingly recognised as challenges whether bioenergy can deliver the required reductions. This paper discusses and highlights the challenges and the importance of the real greenhouse gas (GHG) red...

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Biofuels are a major topic of global interest and technology development. Whereas bioenergy crop production is highly dependent on water, bioenergy development requires effective allocation and management of water. The objectives of this investigation were to assess the bioenergy production relative to the impacts on water resource related factors: (1) climate and weather impact on water suppli...

Demand for bioenergy is increasing, but the ecological consequences of bioenergy crop production on working lands remain unresolved. Corn is currently a dominant bioenergy crop, but perennial grasslands could produce renewable bioenergy resources and enhance biodiversity. Grassland bird populations have declined in recent decades and may particularly benefit from perennial grasslands grown for ...

The land-use sector can contribute to climate change mitigation not only by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but also by increasing carbon uptake from the atmosphere and thereby creating negative CO2 emissions. In this paper, we investigate two land-based climate change mitigation strategies for carbon removal: (1) afforestation and (2) bioenergy in combination with carbon capture and s...

Biodiversity experiments show that increases in plant diversity can lead to greater biomass production, and some researchers suggest that high diversity plantings should be used for bioenergy production. However, many methods used in past biodiversity experiments are impractical for bioenergy plantings. For example, biodiversity experiments often use intensive management such as hand weeding to...

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Bioenergy currently draws worldwide attention, both positive and negative. Proponents argue that the large-scale development of bioenergy, more precisely of biofuels, could be part of the solution for diversifying energy sources, enhancing security of energy supply, and meeting environmental and rural development objectives. Opponents argue that it could drive up prices of agricultural products...

Modern bioenergy is seen as a promising option to curb greenhouse gas emissions. There is, however, a potential competition for land and water between bioenergy and food crops. Another question is whether biomass for energy use can be produced in a sustainable manner given the current conventional agricultural production practices. Other than the land and water competition, this question is oft...

Increase in 4-coumaryl alcohol (H) units during lignification in alfalfa (Medicago sativa) alters extractability and molecular weight of lignin Angela Ziebell, Kristen Gracom, Rui Katahira, Fang Chen, Yunqiao Pu, Art Ragauskas, Richard A. Dixon and Mark Davis 1-National Bioenergy Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401-3393; 2-Bioenergy Science Center, National Renewable ...