Transcript Optimization of Southeastern Forest Biomass Crop Production: Watershed Scale Evaluation of the Sustainability and Productivity of Dedicated Energy Crop and Woody Biomass Operations Feedstocks.

Optimization of Southeastern Forest Biomass
Crop Production: Watershed Scale Evaluation of
the Sustainability and Productivity of Dedicated
Energy Crop and Woody Biomass Operations
Feedstocks Platform
April 6, 2011
Principle Investigators:
George Chescheir
N. C. State University
Jami Nettles
Weyerhaeuser Co.
Goal Statement
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Evaluate the environmental effects of largescale forest biofuel feedstock production
and
utilize results to optimize cropping systems
in a manner that protects the important
ecosystem services provided by forests
while
contributing to the development of a
sustainable and economically-viable biomass
industry in the southeastern United States.
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Quad Chart Overview
Timeline
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Start date – Sept. 30, 2010
End date – Sept. 30, 2015
Percent complete – 8%
Barriers
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Ft-B. Sustainable Production
St-C. Sustainability Data across the
Supply Chain
St-E. Best Practices for Sustainable
Bioenergy Production
St-G. Representation of Land Use
Budget
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Total project funding
– DOE share $2,092,892
– Cost share $2,714,500
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Funding for FY09 - $
0
Funding for FY10 - $ 417,426
ARRA Funding - $
0
Barriers addressed
Partners
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N. C. State University
Weyerhaeuser Company
Catchlight Energy LLC (CLE)
Virginia Tech
US Forest Service
National Council for Air and
Stream Improvement (NCASI)
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Project Overview
Millions of acres of land in timber
production have the potential of producing
biofuel feedstock as well as quality logs. 4
Sparely grown high value crop
trees leave room for a natural or
managed understory
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These areas can be used for production
of biofuel crops such as switchgrass
while still maintaining the essential
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characteristics of forests.
Proper management can minimize adverse
impacts on water use, water quality, soil
productivity, wildlife habitat, and carbon cycling.
High Level Objectives
Evaluate the environmental effects of largescale forest biofuel feedstock production in
the southeastern United States.
1.
Quantify the hydrology of different energy crop
production systems in watershed scale experiments
on different landscapes in the southeast.
2.
Quantify the nutrient dynamics of energy crop
production systems in watershed scale experiments
to determine the impact of these systems on water
quality.
3.
Evaluate the impacts of energy crop production on
soil structure, fertility, and organic matter content.
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High Level Objectives
4.
Evaluate the response of flora and fauna
populations and habitat quality to energy crop
production systems.
5.
Develop watershed and regional scale models to
evaluate the environmental sustainability and
productivity of energy crop and woody biomass
operations.
6.
Quantify the production systems in terms of
bioenergy crop yield versus the energy and
economic costs of production.
7.
Develop and evaluate best management practice
guidelines to ensure the environmental
sustainability of energy crop production systems.
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1 - Approach
• The watershed studies form the core of this research
platform. Matched-watershed studies have been
established in North Carolina, Mississippi and Alabama.
Each installation includes at least four, small,
operational-scale sub-watersheds that are instrumented
to provide data on stream discharge, weather, water
table and water quality.
Biomass treatments that will be
applied to the sub-watersheds will
represent a spectrum of biofuel
management intensities:
Young pine, interplanted with switchgrass
Young pine, woody biomass removal
Young pine, high value timber regime
Switchgrass only
Typical pine plantation, ≈15 years old
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1 - Approach
Field
Research
Watershed and
Plot Scale
Watershed
Scale Models
BMP Development
and Guidance
Landscape Scale
Models
Econonic Analysis
Life Cycle Analysis
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1 - Approach
Field
Research
Watershed and
Plot Scale
Hydrology
Water Quality
N & C Cycling
Evapotranspiration
Vegetation
Soil Properties
Biodiversity
Crop Yield
Mgmt Costs
Soil Productivity
Alternate Scenarios Water Yield
Water Quality
Watershed
Scale Models
Land Use
Parameters
Landscape Scale
Models
Alternate Scenarios
BMP Development
and Guidance
Econonic Analysis
Water Yield
Water Quality
Life Cycle Analysis
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2 - Technical Accomplishments/
Progress/Results
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Three watersheds have been selected for the study in Carteret
County, NC, Greene County, AL, and Calhoun County, MS.
Each watershed includes at least four, operational-scale subwatersheds ranging from 10 to 25 ha in area.
The watersheds have been instrumented to measure:
– stream discharge, weather, and to collect samples for water
quality analysis.
The installed equipment includes:
– flow measuring flumes or weirs with stage recorders and
velocity meters,
– automatic samplers programed to collect flow proportional
composite samples, and
– weather stations to record rainfall and weather parameters
to calculate potential evapotransporation.
The equipment have been collecting data for over 1 year.
Proper functioning of the equipment has been verified.
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2 - Technical Accomplishments/
Progress/Results (cont’d)
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Instrumentation was installed at an existing plot-scale research
site in Lenoir County, NC, and data collection was initiated to
measure hydrology, water quality and in-situ nutrient dynamics
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The SWAT model was run and calibrated on the Tombigbee
Watershed in Mississippi and Alabama. This watershed
includes the Green County, AL research sites, and is an
appropriate scale to evaluate data upscaling. The initial field
scale modeling results appear to poorly simulate intercropping
and other options are being evaluated for generation of biofuel
scenarios.
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The DRAINMOD-FOREST model was developed by linking a
forest growth model to the DRAINMOD and DRAINMOD-NII The
new model was calibrated and validated using the 21-year data
collected at the managed loblolly pine plantations at the Carteret
County, NC site. DRAINMOD-FOREST can be utilized to
comprehensively predict water, C and N dynamics in drained
forest ecosystems under intensive management practices and
will be a valuable tool in our future research.
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3 - Relevance
The underlying themes of the sustainability barriers are:
• The lack of basic information about the sustainability
of biofuel feedstock production
• The lack of tools and methods to evaluate the
sustainability of biofuel feedstock production
• The lack of set standards and management practices
that can be used in biofuel feedstock production
• This project addresses of the whole domain of
knowledge needed to evaluate sustainability. This
knowledge will be used to develop Life Cycle Analyses
and Best Management Practices and Decision Tools
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4 - Critical Success Factors
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High quality data collection, and management
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Development and use of appropriate and effective models
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Publication of research results
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Development and dissemination of effective Best Management
Practices
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The project will advance the state of technology and positively
impact commercial viability and environmental performance
by:
– Supplying comprehensive sustainability data for production
– Developing Best Management Practices for sustainable
production and disseminating the practice to grower
networks
– Supply data needed to perform Life Cycle Analyses and to
develop effective tools to manage sustainable production
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Future Work
• Continue data collection at the three watershed
study sites and at the plot study site.
• Conduct detailed nutrient, soil moisture,
evapotranspiration, and C and N cycling studies
• Set up watershed scale models of each study
watershed.
• Set up landscape scale model for the combined
Tombigbee and Alabama River Watersheds
• Implement treatments on the North Carolina
watershed site in 2011 and the Mississippi, and
Alabama watershed sites in 2012
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Summary
• The overall objective is to evaluate the environmental
effects of large-scale forest biofuel feedstock
production in the southeastern United States.
• Relevance – This project will produce the knowledge needed
to evaluate sustainability of feedstock production
• Approach – Watershed studies form the core of this research
platform. The collected data will be used in watershed and
landscape models to develop Best Management Practices
and Decision Tools
• Technical accomplishments – Three watershed study sites
have been selected and instrumented to collect data
• Success factors and challenges – High quality data
collection, and management, and development and
dissemination of effective Best Management Practices and
management tools
• Future work – Implement treatments on watersheds and
continue data collection and model development.
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Additional Slides
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(Not a template slide – for information purposes only)
• The following slides are to be included in
your submission for Peer Evaluation
purposes, but will not be part of your Oral
presentation –
• You may refer to them during the Q&A
period if they are helpful to you in
explaining certain points.
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Responses to Previous Reviewers’
Comments
• If yours is an on-going project that was reviewed
previously, address 1-3 significant
questions/criticisms from the previous
reviewers’ comments
Note: This slide is for the use of the Peer Reviewers only – it is not to
be presented as part of your oral presentation. These Additional Slides
will be included in the copy of your presentation that will be made
available to the Reviewers.
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Related Publications and Presentations 2010
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Amatya, D.M. A seminar on “Modeling Hydrology, N, and In-stream Transport on
Drained Forested Lands in Coastal Carolinas, USA”, Department of Forest
Engineering, Agricultural University of Krakow, Krakow, Poland , December 15,
2010.
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Appelboom, T.W., G.M. Chescheir, F. Birgand, R.W. Skaggs, J.W. Gilliam, and D.
Amatya. 2010. Temperature coefficient for modeling denitrification in surface
water sediments using the mass transfer coefficient. Trans ASABE, 53(2):465474.
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Beltran, B.J., D.M. Amatya, M. Jones, M.A. Youssef, T.J. Callahan, R.W. Skaggs,
and J. E. Nettles. 2010. Impacts of fertilization on water quality of a drained
pine plantation: A worst case scenario. J. Environmental Quality, 39: 293-303.
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Chescheir, G.M., F. Birgand, S. Tian, M.A. Youssef, and D.M. Amatya. 2010. The
effect of sampling frequency on the accuracy of nitrogen load estimates from a
drained loblolly pine plantation in eastern North Carolina. In: G.M. Chescheir
and M.A. Youssef (Eds.), Proceedings of the ASABE’s 9th International
Drainage Symposium, Québec City, Canada, June 13-17.
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Christopher, S.F., Schoenholtz, S.H, Nettles, J. 2010. Water Quality and
Quantity Implications of Biofuel Intercropping at a Regional Scale. American
Geophysical Union Fall 2010 Meeting, Abstract No. B22D-03
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Related Publications and Presentations 2010
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Nettles, J. 2010. The effects of forest biofuels on water resources.
Environment and sustainability workshop, Wood to Energy Roadmap process,
25 by ’25 and the US Department of Energy Biomass Program. Hot Springs,
AR. April 19, 2010.
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Nettles, J. 2010. Water quality and quantity effects of cellulosic biofuel growth
and production in southern loblolly pine plantations. Turkey Creek Watershed
Annual Cooperators Meeting, Center for Forested Wetlands Research, USDA
US Forest Service. Charleston, SC. April 21, 2010.
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Nettles, J., M Youssef and J Cacho. 2010. Evaluating the field-scale water use
of cellulosic biofuel crops. Forest Landscapes and Global Change, New
Frontiers in Management, Conservation and Restoration, Braganca, Portugal.
IUFRO Landscape Ecology Working Group International Conference.
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Schoenholtz, S.H., Christopher, S.F., Nettles, J. 2010. Growing short-rotation
woody crops for bioenergy: environmental considerations. Soil Science
Society of America Fall Meeting, Abstract No. 250-2.
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Tian, S., M.A. Youssef, R.W. Skaggs, D.M. Amatya, G.M. Chescheir. 2010. Field
evaluations of a forestry version of DRAINMOD-NII Model. In: G.M. Chescheir
and M.A. Youssef (Eds.), Proceedings of the ASABE’s 9th International
Drainage Symposium, Québec City, Canada, June 13-17.
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