Terms: Perennial
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• Science > Ecology > Biodiesel > Perennial Grasses
• Science > Ecology > Alternative Fuels > Perennial Grasses

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1. Perennial Grasses and Cattle (Living on Earth)
   "Well, so much of the world's annual crop production is used to feed cattle. And a lot of that could be substituted for by returning to having animals instead graze on pasture. And if you have perennial pastures, long lived grasses, you can actually produce very high levels of meat and dairy production without having to depend upon the use of a lot of grain."
   
   Perennial grasses are very effective for soil carbon sequestration. 02-09

2. Perennial Grasses More Efficient Than Corn or Soybean (Mongabay.com)
   "Biofuels derived from low-input high-diversity (LIHD) mixtures of native grassland perennials can provide more usable energy, greater greenhouse gas reductions, and less agrichemical pollution per hectare than can corn grain ethanol or soybean biodiesel. High-diversity grasslands had increasingly higher bioenergy yields that were 238% greater than monoculture yields after a decade. LIHD biofuels are carbon negative because net ecosystem carbon dioxide sequestration (4.4 megagram hectare–1 year–1 of carbon dioxide in soil and roots) exceeds fossil carbon dioxide release during biofuel production (0.32 megagram hectare–1 year–1). Moreover, LIHD biofuels can be produced on agriculturally degraded lands and thus need to neither displace food production nor cause loss of biodiversity via habitat destruction." 02-09

3. Perennial Grasses and Cattle (ABCnet.au)
   "Drought-tolerant perennial pastures could make a big dent in Australia's greenhouse emissions by helping soils to soak up carbon, says one researcher."
   
   He says results from a trial, which ran for more than three years on a farm in Lancelin, show Rhodes grass can capture and sequester nearly 7 tonnes per hectare of CO2 equivalents per year more than traditional pasture." 02-09

4. Replacing Corn With Perennial Grass Uses Less Land for Ethanol (eScienceNews.com)
   "In the largest field trial of its kind in the United States, researchers have determined that the giant perennial grass Miscanthus x giganteus outperforms current biofuels sources – by a lot. Using Miscanthus as a feedstock for ethanol production in the U.S. could significantly reduce the acreage dedicated to biofuels while meeting government biofuels production goals, the researchers report. The new findings, from researchers at the University of Illinois, appear this month in the journal Global Change Biology." 02-09

5. Perennial Grasses for Fuel

6. Potential for Carbon Sequestration with Perennial Grasses (Rumore, Sulzman, and Young)
   "Increasing SOC storage through changes in land use and land management is a low cost and environmentally beneficial way of sequestering substantial amounts of atmospheric CO2. Conversion of cropland to grassland, improved grassland management, and conversion to no-till farming can improve soil carbon sequestration. Although rates of sequestration and total SOC values vary among studies of grassland systems, it seems likely that grassland systems provide valuable carbon storage." 05-11

7. Drought-Resistent Perennial Grasses: Types (ag.udel.edu)
   "A permanent bed does not mean that you can plant it and forget it. A lot of maintenance is required to keep the perennials weed-free and in bounds. Because many perennials spread rapidly, they have to be kept under control or they will crowd out less aggressive species."
   
   "Soil preparation is the most important step in establishing a perennial bed. Lay out the area you want to plant and remove all the sod, weed stems and roots. Cover the area with 2-4" of peat moss; add 5-10 lbs ground limestone per 100 sq. ft.; add 3-4 lbs of 0-20-20 or 6-8 lbs or 5-10-10 per 100 sq. ft. Using a good heavy duty roto-tiller work the whole area as deep as possible several times, or until the peat is well mixed with the soil."
   
   Perennial grasses are very effective for soil carbon sequestration. Also see Xeriscaping. 07-11

8. Drought-Resistent Perennial Grasses: Types (Treehugger)
   "According to a NASA study on lawns, 50,000 square miles of grass covers the US, which it says should be turfgrass to reduce watering, which the EPA estimates accounts for one third of Americans' water usage."
   
   Perennial grasses are very effective for soil carbon sequestration. 07-11

9. Switchgrass (Wikipedia.org)
   "Switchgrass is often considered a good candidate for biofuel — especially ethanol fuel — production due to its hardiness against poor soil and climate conditions, rapid growth and low fertilization and herbicide requirements. Switchgrass is also perennial, unlike corn and sugarcane, and has a huge biomass output, the raw plant material used to make biofuel, of 6-10 tons per acre."
   "Switchgrass has the potential to produce the biomass required for production of up to 100 gallons (380 liters) of ethanol per metric ton.[4] This gives switchgrass the potential to produce 1000 gallons of ethanol per acre, compared to 665 gallons for sugarcane and 400 gallons for corn." 07-06

10. -07-26-07 Spielberg Pressures Chinese on Dafur (ABC News)
    "Steven Spielberg, under pressure from Darfur activists, may quit his post as artistic adviser to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, unless China takes a harder line against Sudan, a representative of the film director told ABC News."
    
    "China, Sudan's largest oil customer and perennial defender, has come under renewed scrutiny in the lead up to the Olympics, as the country juggles its need for cheap energy with its desire to host a trouble-free games." 07-07

11. Biochar (Wikipedia.org)
    "Biochar is charcoal created by pyrolysis of biomass. The resulting charcoal-like material can be used as a soil improver to create terra preta,[1] and is a form of carbon capture and storage.[2] Charcoal is a stable solid and rich in carbon content, and thus, can be used to lock carbon in the soil. Biochar is of increasing interest because of concerns about mitigation of global warming being caused by emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases." 02-09

12. Biochar

13. Soil Carbon Sequestration

14. Geoengineering by Seeding Clouds (Time.com)
    "This week, another of the perennials got a good, close look when a study by the Carnegie Institution and the Indian Institute of Science explored the idea of seeding clouds to make them whiter and more reflective—essentially the mirror idea but without the actual mirrors. The good news: It works! The bad news: You'd better like monsoons." 06-10

15. Miscanthus Giganteus Outperforms Current Biofuels Sources (Illinois.edu)
    "In the largest field trial of its kind in the United States, researchers have determined that the giant perennial grass Miscanthus x giganteus outperforms current biofuels sources – by a lot. Using Miscanthus as a feedstock for ethanol production in the U.S. could significantly reduce the acreage dedicated to biofuels while meeting government biofuels production goals, the researchers report." 12-10

16. Vetiver Grass for Water Filtering and Retention (eScienceNews.com)
    "When planted as a contour hedge it acts as a continuous filtering system, that slows down rainfall runoff, reduces rilling and gullying, and collects soil sediments at the hedge face. Soil and nutrient loss is reduced, soil moisture and ground water improves significantly, and natural terraces and ground leveling develops behind the hedge. An important feature is that vetiver grass takes up minimal space and is virtually non competitive with adjacent crops. Apart for soil conservation uses vetiver is now an important grass for the stabilization of road and railroad embankments, river banks, canals, bridge abutments, landslide prevention, water quality improvement, waste management, etc." 02-09

17. Editorial: Peyton Manning's Importance to the Colts (CNN News)
    "Manning, the Hall of Fame-worthy 35-year-old quarterback, firmly established himself as the most irreplaceable player in the game this [2011] season, and did it without taking a single snap. Some have even suggested he deserves Most Valuable Player consideration: With him, the Colts are a perennial Super Bowl contender, without him they're a laughingstock." 12-11

18. -As Permafrost Thaws, Risks Rise (New York Times)
    "A recent estimate suggests that the perennially frozen ground known as permafrost, which underlies nearly a quarter of the Northern Hemisphere, contains twice as much carbon as the entire atmosphere." 12-11

19. -01-26-12 Apple's Outsourcing (Time.com)
    "Although outsourcing and the consequent demise of the U.S. manufacturing sector is a perennially hot political issue, the economics of globalization suggest that U.S. jobs lost to cheaper overseas competition won’t be coming back." 01-12

20. -03-15-12 Editorial: Why We Should Care the Encyclopedia Britannica Is No Longer in Print (CNN News)
    "The disappearance of our printed sources of information poses two serious concerns. First, our antiquated, overtaxed, patchwork power grid is perennially on the verge of collapse..... No power, no Internet."
    
    "Second, just two-thirds of all Americans have access to the Internet at work or home.”
    
    "Looking forward to the world our children and their children will live in doesn't mean simply abandoning technology that seems anachronistic. It means preserving the best of what we know and making it accessible to everyone." 03-12