Title:
Energy and Compositional Characteristics of Giant Reed Grown under Different Levels of Water Deficit
Author(s):
Curt, M.D., Sanz, M., Sánchez, J., Aguado, P.L., Fernández, J.
Document(s):
Paper
Poster
Abstract:
Concerns about land and water use have led to research on perennial grasses as energy crops for marginal lands, including abandoned lands, low fertility soils and water-deficit areas. The potential of this type of crops should be assessed not only in terms of yield but also in terms of quality of the crop produce. The aim of this work was to investigate if water-deficit conditions affect the energy and compositional characteristics of giant reed when grown under a continental-Mediterranean climate. A two-year field experiment was designedwith two sources of variation: water-deficit level (three levels or treatments) and biomass fraction (leaves, stalks), and thirteen variables (biomass properties).It was found that the differences between the studied water-deficit treatments were small for most variables; on the contrary, the differences between the properties of the leaf fraction and the stalk biomass were much higher and often statistically significant.Therefore, the biomass partitioning into leaves and stalks was revealed as the main factor influencing the quality of giant reed biomass.
Keywords:
biomass, energy crops, arundo donax, chemical composition, water deficit
Topic:
Biomass Resources
Subtopic:
Biomass crops and energy grasses
Event:
24th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
1DV.1.37
Pages:
351 - 355
ISBN:
978-88-89407-165
Paper DOI:
10.5071/24thEUBCE2016-1DV.1.37
Price:
FREE
