Evaluation of the Carbon and Water Cycles and Climate Benefits of Mature Switchgrass (Panicum Virgatum L.)

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dc.contributor.advisorWagner-Riddle, Claudia
dc.contributor.authorEichelmann, Elke
dc.date.accessioned2015-09-09T14:56:04Z
dc.date.available2016-09-02T05:00:28Z
dc.date.copyright2015-09
dc.date.created2015-09-03
dc.date.issued2015-09-09
dc.degree.departmentSchool of Environmental Sciencesen_US
dc.degree.grantorUniversity of Guelphen_US
dc.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophyen_US
dc.degree.programmeEnvironmental Sciencesen_US
dc.description.abstractWith rising demand for bioenergy feedstock, interest in switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) has increased over the past decades. However, data on the carbon exchange dynamics and water budgets of mature switchgrass stands (>5 years) is limited. I conducted eddy covariance measurements of CO2 , H2O, and sensible energy fluxes over a 60 ha commercial switchgrass field in its sixth (2012), seventh (2013), and eighth (2014) year since establishment in Southern Ontario, Canada. Measurements from 2014 were compared to a corn field in the same region. Dry matter yield was highest in the dry and warm year of 2012 at 1090 g m-2 and lowest in 2014 at 568±93 g m-2 . Considering the carbon removed at harvest, the ecosystem was a carbon source in 2012 (net ecosystem carbon balance, NECB, of 106±45 g C m-2 ), but a carbon sink in 2013 and 2014 (NECB of −59±45 and −66±59 g C m-2 , respectively). These results show that mature switchgrass can vary between being a sink and a source of carbon on an annual basis. Water use efficiency results indicate that the switchgrass crop was able to reduce the water cost of aboveground biomass in 2012 by relocating carbon from belowground structures, but it fixed slightly more atmospheric carbon per unit water evapotranspired in 2013 compared to 2012 and 2014. Corn had less carbon uptake than switchgrass in 2014 making corn a net carbon source (NECB of 328±30 g C m-2 for a scenario where only corn grain is harvested and 634±34 g C m-2 if corn grain and stover are harvested). Switchgrass had, however, a lower yield in that year than either corn scenario (751±40 g m-2 for grain only and 1439±52 g m-2 for grain plus stover). The switchgrass field had a lower albedo than the corn field during spring and fall, resulting in an annual average negative radiative forcing of −4.5 W m-2. The results from this research project suggest that carbon and water cycling of mature switchgrass can differ substantially from young stands and that switchgrass has many potential climate benefits as a biofuel feedstock crop.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipNatural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery grant
dc.description.sponsorshipNatural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Accelerator Supplement Award
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10214/9187
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Guelphen_US
dc.rights.licenseAll items in the Atrium are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
dc.subjectEddy covarianceen_US
dc.subjectCarbon balanceen_US
dc.subjectNet Ecosystem Exchangeen_US
dc.subjectWater budgeten_US
dc.subjectCanopy conductanceen_US
dc.subjectBiofuelen_US
dc.subjectAlbedoen_US
dc.subjectSwitchgrassen_US
dc.subjectCornen_US
dc.subjectLatent energyen_US
dc.subjectSensible energyen_US
dc.titleEvaluation of the Carbon and Water Cycles and Climate Benefits of Mature Switchgrass (Panicum Virgatum L.)en_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
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