Comparing predicted yield and yield stability of willow and Miscanthus across Denmark

TY - JOUR

T1 - Comparing predicted yield and yield stability of willow and Miscanthus across Denmark

AU - Larsen, Søren

AU - Jaiswal, Deepak

AU - Bentsen, Niclas Scott

AU - Wang, Dan

AU - Long, Stephen P.

PY - 2016/11/1

Y1 - 2016/11/1

N2 - To achieve the goals of energy security and climate change mitigation in Denmark and the EU, an expansion of national production of bioenergy crops is needed. Temporal and spatial variation of yields of willow and Miscanthus is not known for Denmark because of a limited number of field trial data. The semi-mechanistic crop model BioCro was used to simulate the production of both short-rotation coppice (SRC) willow and Miscanthus across Denmark. Predictions were made from high spatial resolution soil data and weather records across this area for 1990–2010. The potential average, rain-fed mean yield was 12.1 Mg DM ha−1 yr−1 for willow and 10.2 Mg DM ha−1 yr−1 for Miscanthus. Coefficient of variation as a measure for yield stability was poorest on the sandy soils of northern and western Jutland, and the year-to-year variation in yield was greatest on these soils. Willow was predicted to outyield Miscanthus on poor, sandy soils, whereas Miscanthus was higher yielding on clay-rich soils. The major driver of yield in both crops was variation in soil moisture, with radiation and precipitation exerting less influence. This is the first time these two major feedstocks for northern Europe have been compared within a single modeling framework and providing an important new tool for decision-making in selection of feedstocks for emerging bioenergy systems.

AB - To achieve the goals of energy security and climate change mitigation in Denmark and the EU, an expansion of national production of bioenergy crops is needed. Temporal and spatial variation of yields of willow and Miscanthus is not known for Denmark because of a limited number of field trial data. The semi-mechanistic crop model BioCro was used to simulate the production of both short-rotation coppice (SRC) willow and Miscanthus across Denmark. Predictions were made from high spatial resolution soil data and weather records across this area for 1990–2010. The potential average, rain-fed mean yield was 12.1 Mg DM ha−1 yr−1 for willow and 10.2 Mg DM ha−1 yr−1 for Miscanthus. Coefficient of variation as a measure for yield stability was poorest on the sandy soils of northern and western Jutland, and the year-to-year variation in yield was greatest on these soils. Willow was predicted to outyield Miscanthus on poor, sandy soils, whereas Miscanthus was higher yielding on clay-rich soils. The major driver of yield in both crops was variation in soil moisture, with radiation and precipitation exerting less influence. This is the first time these two major feedstocks for northern Europe have been compared within a single modeling framework and providing an important new tool for decision-making in selection of feedstocks for emerging bioenergy systems.

KW - Faculty of Science

KW - BioCro

KW - bioenergy

KW - C4 photosynthesis

KW - crop model

KW - geospatial modeling

KW - mechanistic model

KW - Miscanthus

KW - perennial grasses

KW - short-rotation coppice

KW - Willow

KW - Wimowac

U2 - 10.1111/gcbb.12318

DO - 10.1111/gcbb.12318

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1757-1693

VL - 8

SP - 1061

EP - 1070

JO - Global Change Biology. Bioenergy

JF - Global Change Biology. Bioenergy

IS - 6

ER -