Methodology for Estimating Removable Quantities of Agricultural Residues for Bioenergy and Bioproduct Use

A methodology was developed to estimate quantities of crop residues that can be removed while maintaining rain or wind erosion at less than or equal to the tolerable soil-loss level. Six corn and wheat rotations in the 10 largest corn-producing states were analyzed. Residue removal rates for each rota tion were evaluated for conventional, mulch/reduced, and no-till field operations. The analyses indicated that potential removable maximum quan tities range from nearly 5.5 million dry metric t/yr for a continuous corn rotation using conventional till in Kansas to more than 97 million dry metric t/yr for a corn-wheat rotation using no-till in Illinois. Index Entries: Corn stover; wheat straw; rainfall erosion; wind erosion; tolerable soil loss