Read the
magazine
story to find out more.
|
An ARS computer model makes it possible farmers to
calculate trade-offs between profit and the environment when it comes to using
crop residues for biofuels. Click the image for more information about
it.
|
|
Models Help Assess Biofuels' Sustainability
By Laura
McGinnis
October 9, 2008 Many agricultural products can be
converted into feedstocks for alternative fuel. Now analysis from the
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
suggests that they can be used this way without reducing the nation's food
supply, soil production capacity or environmental quality.
ARS scientists are collaborating with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Economic Research Service (ERS), the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the
Department of Energy, and USDA's
Natural Resources Conservation Service
to assess the economic impact of feedstock production. At locations around the
United States, ARS scientists are evaluating how individual and combined
management decisions influence different farming systems.
In one collaborative study, ARS scientists in Oregon and Texas are pairing
two biophysical models to evaluate the environmental impact of land-management
practices on large, complex watersheds over long periods of time. The
assessment will also take into account the effects of varying soils, land use
and management conditions.
The first model, called CQESTR, simulates changes in soil organic carbon
based on factors such as climate, tillage management, crop rotation and crop
residue removal. By incorporating the model into the
Soil and Water Assessment Tool
(SWAT), ARS soil scientist
Hero
T. Gollany, at the
Columbia
Plateau Conservation Research Center in Pendleton, Ore., and ARS
agricultural engineer
Jeffrey
G. Arnold, at the
Grassland
Soil and Water Research Laboratory in Temple, Texas, can predict how land
management practices will influence soil organic carbon, soil organic matter,
water, sediment and agricultural chemical accumulation.
Another ARS model, called PGA-BIOECON, calculates the trade-offs among three
important objectives: profitability, water quality and production efficiency.
ARS hydrologist
Gerald
Whittaker, at the agency's
Forage,
Seed and Cereal Research Unit in Corvallis, Ore., helped develop the model.
Because the model can work on many scales and on multiple objectives, its
results provide information to a diverse pool of users, encompassing individual
farmers and national policymakers.
Whittaker's model projects information on a variety of complex factors,
providing data that could allow stakeholders to select the best management
decisions to achieve their objectives.
Read
more about this research in the October 2008 issue of Agricultural
Research magazine.
ARS is a scientific research agency of the USDA.