An Integrated Modeling and Data Management Strategy for Cellulosic Biomass Production Decisions

Abstract: Emerging cellulosic bioenergy markets can provide land managers with additional options for crop production decisions. For example, integrating dedicated bioenergy crops such as perennial grasses and short rotation woody species within the agricultural landscape can have positive impacts on several environmental processes including increased soil organic matter in degraded soils, reduced sediment and nutrient loading in watersheds, and lower green house gas fluxes. Implementing this type of diverse bioenergy production system to maximize the potential environmental benefits requires a detailed understanding of the many interwoven aspects of environmental landscapes. This paper presents a dynamic framework-based integrated modeling and data management strategy that can design sustainable bioenergy cropping systems within the existing row crop production landscape of the Midwestern U.S. Critical environmental processes— including soil erosion from wind and water, and soil organic matter changes—are quantified by this integrated model to determine sustainable removal rates of agricultural residues for bioenergy production at the sub-field scale. Seven lan