First Name:
Kyle
Last Name:
Flores
Major Department:
Biology
Thesis Director:
Eva Gonzales
Date of Thesis:
May 2012
There is growing interest in using perennial grasses as renewable fuels for generating electricity and for producing cellulosic bioethanol. Miscanthus x giganteus, a C4 perennial grass native to Japan, has demonstrated great promise as one such bioenergy crop. In the United States, field research exploring M. x giganteus yield potentials have been limited to Illinois and Kansas. In this thesis, we explored the potential for cultivating M. x giganteus in the southeastern US. Additionally, we investigated the viability of a sustainable-management plan which involved amending soil with biochar inoculated with nitrogen-fixing bacteria,Azospirillum doebereinerae.We report a first-year yield of 5.52 t DW ha-1 and 100% winter survivability at our field site in western North Carolina, demonstrating a high potential for cultivatingM. x giganteusin this region. In greenhouse experiments, biochar-amended soil enhanced M. x giganteusaboveground productivity and promoted new rhizome branches; specifically, M. x giganteusplants grown in biochar-containing soil exhibited a 29.6% increase in aboveground biomass production and 112% more rhizome root branches after 11 months of growth. Biochar-containing soils also increased soil moisture retention rates as well as soil respiration rate.Azospirillum doebereineraeinoculations did not contribute significantly to any of the measured variables. In conclusion, we report that M. x giganteus can be sustainably cultivated in western NC and that using biochar as a soil amendment might expand the range of M. x giganteuscultivation while simultaneously mitigating global climate change through carbon sequestration.