Cited by 146Bioenergy crop production and managementPlant Water Relations and Carbon DynamicsHydrology and Watershed Management Studies

Implications for the hydrologic cycle under climate change due to the expansion of bioenergy crops in the Midwestern United States

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Le, Phong V. V., Kumar, Praveen, Drewry, Darren T.·2011·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Abstract

To meet emerging bioenergy demands, significant areas of the large-scale agricultural landscape of the Midwestern United States could be converted to second generation bioenergy crops such as miscanthus and switchgrass. The high biomass productivity of bioenergy crops in a longer growing season linked tightly to water use highlight the potential for significant impact on the hydrologic cycle in the region. This issue is further exacerbated by the uncertainty in the response of the vegetation under elevated CO(2) and temperature. We use a mechanistic multilayer canopy-root-soil model to (i) capture the eco-physiological acclimations of bioenergy crops under climate change, and (ii) predict how hydrologic fluxes are likely to be altered from their current magnitudes. Observed data and Monte Carlo simulations of weather for recent past and future scenarios are used to characterize the variability range of the predictions. Under present weather conditions, miscanthus and switchgrass utilized more water than maize for total seasonal evapotranspiration by approximately 58% and 36%, respectively. Projected higher concentrations of atmospheric CO(2) (550 ppm) is likely to decrease water used for evapotranspiration of miscanthus, switchgrass, and maize by 12%, 10%, and 11%, respectively. However, when climate change with projected increases in air temperature and reduced summer rainfall are also considered, there is a net increase in evapotranspiration for all crops, leading to significant reduction in soil-moisture storage and specific surface runoff. These results highlight the critical role of the warming climate in potentially altering the water cycle in the region under extensive conversion of existing maize cropping to support bioenergy demand.

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  1. [2]Wall JD, Harwood CS, Demain AL. Bioenergy. Washington, DC: ASM Press; 2008. [Google Scholar]
  2. [30]Nobel PST. Water vapor conductance and CO2 uptake for leaves of a C4 desert grass, hilaria rigida. Ecology. 1980;6:252–258. [Google Scholar]

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Authors
Le, P. V. V., Kumar, P., & Drewry, D. T.
Affiliations
  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
  • Max Planck Society (DE)
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2011-08-29
Volume
108
Issue
37
Pages
15085-15090
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
OpenAlex
W2077830781
Cited by
146
References
46
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 10
FWCI
23.43
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (submittedVersion)
  • MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Agronomy and Crop Science › Bioenergy crop production and management
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies
Keywords
energy crops, Miscanthus, switchgrass, maize, evapotranspiration, soil moisture, surface runoff, climate change, elevated CO2, water consumption, land use conversion, water cycle, Midwestern United States, crop water use
MeSH terms
Air, Carbon Dioxide, Circadian Rhythm, Meteorological Concepts, Models, Theoretical, Photosynthesis, Stochastic Processes, Temperature, Midwestern United States, Reproducibility of Results, Plant Leaves, Plant Transpiration, Crops, Agricultural, Biofuels, Climate Change, Water Cycle

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