title: Biogeochemical Research Priorities for Sustainable Biofuel and Bioenergy Feedstock Production in the Americas.
abstract: Rapid expansion in biomass production for biofuels and bioenergy in the Americas is increasing demand on the ecosystem resources required to sustain soil and site productivity. We review the current state of knowledge and highlight gaps in research on biogeochemical processes and ecosystem sustainability related to biomass production. Biomass production systems incrementally remove greater quantities of organic matter, which in turn affects soil organic matter and associated carbon and nutrient storage (and hence long-term soil productivity) and off-site impacts. While these consequences have been extensively studied for some crops and sites, the ongoing and impending impacts of biomass removal require management strategies for ensuring that soil properties and functions are sustained for all combinations of crops, soils, sites, climates, and management systems, and that impacts of biomass management (including off-site impacts) are environmentally acceptable. In a changing global environment, knowledge of cumulative impacts will also become increasingly important. Long-term experiments are essential for key crops, soils, and management systems because short-term results do not necessarily reflect long-term impacts, although improved modeling capability may help to predict these impacts. Identification and validation of soil sustainability indicators for both site prescriptions and spatial applications would better inform commercial and policy decisions. In an increasingly inter-related but constrained global context, researchers should engage across inter-disciplinary, inter-agency, and international lines to better ensure the long-term soil productivity across a range of scales, from site to landscape.
authors.affiliation: Columbia Plateau Conservation Research Center, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, 48037 Tubbs Ranch Road, Adams, OR, 97810, USA. hero.gollany@ars.usda.gov.
authors.forename: Hero T
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6095-3618
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Gollany
authors.affiliation: Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Pacific Forestry Centre, 506 West Burnside Rd., Victoria, BC, V8Z 1M5, Canada.
authors.forename: Brian D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Titus
authors.affiliation: USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Agricultural Research Center, 4900 Meridian Street, Normal, AL, 35762, USA.
authors.forename: D Andrew
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.affiliation: Department of Natural Resources and the Environment and the Earth Systems Research Center, Institute for Earth, Oceans and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, 03824, USA.
authors.forename: Heidi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Asbjornsen
authors.affiliation: School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA.
authors.forename: Sigrid C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Resh
authors.affiliation: School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA.
authors.forename: Rodney A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Chimner
authors.affiliation: Oregon Department of Forestry, 3700 Mahony Road, St. Paul, OR, 97137, USA.
authors.forename: Donald J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Kaczmarek
authors.affiliation: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA), Teresina, PI, 64006-220, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luiz F C
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Leite
authors.affiliation: Climate Change Adaptation Consultant, R. 21 Sul Lt 09/1004, Taguatinga, 71925-540, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana C C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: School of the Environment, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA.
authors.forename: Kenton A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Rod
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciónes de Agroindustria (CIA), Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia agropecuaria (INTA), C.C. 25, Castelar, 1712, Prov. de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hilbert
authors.affiliation: Brazilian Bioethanol Science and Technology Laboratory (CTBE), Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), Campinas, SP, 13083-100, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcelo V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Galdos
authors.affiliation: School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA.
authors.forename: Michelle E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Cisz
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D000569:Americas; D056804:Biofuels; D018533:Biomass; D003246:Conservation of Energy Resources; D018556:Crops, Agricultural; D017753:Ecosystem; D016468:Forestry; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D012987:Soil
keywords: Agroecosystem; Bioenergy feedstock; Carbon; Forestry; Soil; Sustainability