Biofuel Crops Provide Energy, Curb Greenhouse Gases

Not only are biofuel crops used in producing energy, they can also help reduce the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, according to a study by scientists at the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (ARS). The researchers compared the net production of carbon dioxide and two other greenhouse gases associated with producing biofuels from several different bioenergy crops. They found that switchgrass and hybrid poplar are more effective in curbing greenhouse gases than the current fad corn and soybeans.

Bioenergy crops offset their greenhouse-gas contributions in three key ways: by removing carbon dioxide from the air and storing it in crop roots and soil as organic carbon; by producing co-products like protein for animal feed, which saves on energy to make feed by other means; and by displacement, whereby replacing a fossil fuel with a biobased one "recycles" rather than adds more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

The news release is available at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2007/070608.htm.