Outlines the environmental impact of using wheat straw or corn stover for ethanol production. Makes policy recommendations for ensuring the adoption of best management practices such as no-till production, cover crops, and precision fertilizer management

Liz Marshall

Zachary Sugg

English

Crop residues like wheat straw and corn stover—i.e. stalks and leaves — have been proposed as a sustainable feedstock for a “next-generation ” cellulosic ethanol in-dustry in the United States. However, use of agricultural residues should not be considered to have low environ-mental impacts simply because they are a by-product of an existing use of the land. Such residues currently replenish and protect soils on working agricultural lands, and their removal is unlikely to be sustainable unless accompanied by adoption of agricultural best management practices such as no-till production, cover crops, and precision fertilizer management. Key Findings 1. Even moderate corn stover harvest increases erosion and depletes soil carbon on working lands

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Finding Balance: Agricultural Residues, Ethanol, and the Environment

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https://www.issuelab.org/resources/9298/9298.pdf

Finding Balance: Agricultural Residues, Ethanol, and the Environment

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