Soil carbon and nitrogen cycle modeling for bioenergy crops

Woo, Dong Kook

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/45373 Copy

Description

Title

Soil carbon and nitrogen cycle modeling for bioenergy crops

Author(s)

Woo, Dong Kook

Issue Date

2013-08-22T16:38:13Z

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Kumar, Praveen

Department of Study

Civil & Environmental Eng

Discipline

Civil Engineering

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• soil carbon
• soil nitrogen
• miscanthus
• switchgrass
• bioenergy crop

Abstract

Due to the increase in the demands for bioenergy, considerable areas in the Midwestern United States (US) could be converted into croplands for second generation bioenergy, such as the cultivation of miscanthus and switchgrass. Study on the effect of the expansion of these crops on soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics is integral to understanding their long-term environmental impacts. We developed a coupled hydrological-soil nutrient model under identical field conditions and different harvest litter input scenarios. Our project simulation shows that there are critical harvest litter amounts for miscanthus (15% of above-ground biomass when harvested), and switchgrass (25%) to sequester significant quantities of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) into the soil (up to 9.7 and 7.5 kg C m-2 accumulations in miscanthus and switchgrass, respectively, within the next 100 years), while reducing nitrogen (N) losses (approximately 98 % reduction in soil inorganic nitrogen), unlike corn-corn-soybean rotation. This finding resulted from an increase in the carbon/nitrogen (C:N) ratio of topsoil, deactivating soil microbes.

Graduation Semester

2013-08

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/45373

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2013 Dong Kook Woo

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