Book chapter
Growing Switchgrass in the Corn Belt: Barriers and Drivers from an Iowa Survey
Land Allocation for Biomass Crops, pp.125-144
Springer International Publishing, 1st ed. 2018
05/07/2018
Abstract
While agriculture has dramatically increased the production of crops for energy generation, there has been limited growing of dedicated perennial crops for liquid fuel or electricity production. Adoption of dedicated perennials can be the first step in the transformation from unsustainable, energy intensive agricultural production to a system that is resilient to climate change, environmentally sustainable and financially stable for farmers. We focus on the perennial switchgrass because it is a native species and there is evidence of its favorable agronomic and environmental profile under a wide range of growing conditions. However, since switchgrass is a novel, perennial crop, there are challenges for farmers who want to grow it. This paper examines which factors are significant predictors in the interest of farmers in producing switchgrass through the analysis of the results of a survey completed by farmers in the Clear Creek watershed in rural Iowa. Knowledge of switchgrass and production on highly erodible land are both highly correlated with interest in growing switchgrass. In addition, long-term contracts with bio-refineries would help farmers decrease adoption risk. Our results can help establish policies that could influence farmers to shift production from annual crops to perennial native biomass energy crops. Switchgrass production has the potential to move agriculture from a contributor to climate change into a sector that mitigates climate change via reduction in energy-intensive inputs, such as fertilizers, production of renewable fuels, and sequestration of carbon in the soils.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Growing Switchgrass in the Corn Belt: Barriers and Drivers from an Iowa Survey
- Creators
- Silvia Secchi - University of Iowa, Geographical and Sustainability SciencesSarah Varble
- Contributors
- Ruopu Li (Editor)Andrea Monti (Editor)
- Resource Type
- Book chapter
- Publication Details
- Land Allocation for Biomass Crops, pp.125-144
- Edition
- 1st ed. 2018
- Table of contents
- 5.10 Steep Slope; 4.5 Conservation Reserve Program Area and Payment; Grain Yields and Other Data; Carbon Capture Capability of Farmland; Georeferenced Information; 2.1 Status of Marginal Land in China; 2 Methods; 4 Concluding Comments; 3.2 Spatial-Temporal Distribution of Carbon Capture Capability of Farmland; 2 Overview of the Chapters; 3 Biophysical Constraints to Define ANC Land; 4.4 Nitrogen Application Rates; 5.5 Unfavorable Texture and Stoniness; Jatropha curcas; 3 Spatial–Temporal Distribution of Carbon Capture Capability on Farmland; 5 Results; Manihot esculenta; 5.6 Shallow Rooting Depth; Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge; 2.2 Data Sources; 2.4 Variable Construction; 3 Opportunities and Challenges; Pistacia chinensis; Areas with Natural Constraints to Agriculture: Possibilities and Limitations for The Cultivation of Switchgrass (Panicum Virgatum L.) and Giant Reed (Arundo Donax L.) in Europe; 4 Risks Associated with the Production of Energy Crops in Contaminated Land; Contents; 3.1 Farmers' Input-Output of Growing Energy Plants; 2.1 Study Area; 3.3 The Impacts of Government Regulations in Bioenergy Development; 2 Materials and Methods; Spatial-Temporal Change of Agricultural Biomass and Carbon Capture Capability in the Mid-South of Hebei Province; 3 Economic Feasibility of Using Marginal Land for Biofuels Production; 5.1 Low Temperature; Irrigation; 5.9 Poor Chemical Properties (Topsoil Acidity, pH); 6 Suitability of Giant Reed and Switchgrass for “Unclear Synergies Output”; 3.1 Patterns of Land Use and Land Use Change in Spain; 5.3 Excess Soil Moisture; 2.2 Description of Survey and Sample; Response of Carbon Interception of Farmland to LUCC; 3 Results and Discussion; Production of Energy Crops in Heavy Metals Contaminated Land: Opportunities and Risks; 4.1 Commodity Demand; 2 Material and Methods; Impact of Stover Collection on Iowa Land Use; 2.1 Data; Foreword; 5 Concluding Remarks; Spatial Analysis of Land Suitability for Growing Energy Crops; Changes in Nitrogen Application and Conservation Reserve Program Area from Cellulosic Biofuel Production in the United States; 3.2 Land Suitability for Growing Energy Crops; 5.4 Limited Soil Drainage; 5.2 Dryness; 4 Dilemma and Future Development of Biofuels in China; Trends in Land Use in Spain and their Meaning to BioenergyProduction; 3.1 Criteria; 4 Conclusions; 2.2 Land Suitability Assessment for Growing Energy Crops; 2.2 Suitable Energy Plants for Biofuels in China; 5.7 Poor Chemical Properties (Salinity); 3 Economic Model; 7 Synthesis and Forward Outlook; 2.3 Interest in Planting Switchgrass: Theoretical Foundations and Hypothesis Construction; 4.2 Field Crop Production; 2.4 Potential of Bioenergy Production from Energy Plants on Marginal Land; 4.3 Other Factors; 4.2 Impacts of Agricultural Management; 5 Conclusions; Meteorological Conditions; Policy; 3 Results; Aboveground Biomass of Farmland; 4.1 Response of Farmland Carbon Interception to Land-Use and Land-Cover Change; Land Use/Cover Change (LU/LC); 2.4 Data; Index; 2.1 Patterns of Land Use and Land Use Change in Spain; Crop Soil and Climatic Adaptability Inventory; 3 Opportunities Associated with the Production of Energy Crops in Contaminated Land; Growing Switchgrass in the Corn Belt: Barriers and Drivers from an Iowa Survey; The Availability and Economic Analyses of Using Marginal Land for Bioenergy Production in China; 1 Background; 2.3 Model; 2.3 Study Methods; 4.3 Biomass Production; 2.2 Identifying Cerrado in a Time-Series of Land Use Maps; 2 Study Area and Methods; 4 Data; 1 Introduction; Helianthus tuberous L; Introduction; 4 Factors of Carbon Interception Capacity by Farmland; Farmers' Acreage Responses to the Expansion of the Sugarcane Ethanol Industry: The Case of Goiás and Mato Grosso Do Sul, Brazil; 3.1 Biomass of Farmland in the Mid–South Hebei Province; Selection of Target Energy Crops; 2.3 Acreage Response Model; 2 Soils Contaminated with Heavy Metals: Soil-Metal-Plant Relationships; Methods of Land Use/Cover Change Detection; 2 Literature Review; 4.6 Scenarios; 4 Discussion and Conclusion; Land Use/Cover Data; Social Economy; Contributors; 5.8 Poor Chemical Properties (Sodicity); 3.2 Synergies Resulting from Pair-Wise Combinations of Biophysical Constraints; 3.3 Comparison to Data from the Literature; Fertilization; 4 Conclusion; 5 Suitability of Giant Reed and Switchgrass to The Specific Biophysical Constraints of ANC Land; 2.4 Simulation Scenarios; 4 Rationale for ANC Land Allocation to Giant Reed and Switchgrass; 3.2 Bioenergy Plants' Input-Output of Producing Bioethanol and Biodiesel; 5 Conclusion; 2 Area with Natural Constraints: Policy Context and Background; References; 2 Natural Suitability of Marginal Lands for Biofuels Production; 2.2 Farmers' Choices; 6 Discussion and Conclusion; 2.3 Potential of Marginal Land for Energy Plants
- Publisher
- Springer International Publishing; New York
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 05/05/2018
- Date published
- 05/07/2018
- Academic Unit
- Geographical and Sustainability Sciences; University College Courses; Public Policy Center (Archive)
- Record Identifier
- 9983917999602771
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