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Thesis (M.S.)--Auburn University, 2006. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references (p.101-109).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1982. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 41-47).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 233-250).

Climate change has become the most important global environmental problem we face today. Agriculture, forestry and the land use sector not only contribute to national economies but also provide a source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as a carbon store, contributing approximately 20% but removing about 16%. Energy crops and associated increases in soil carbon sequestration from different ground covers through various land management strategies are examples of approaches that could be adopted to reduce GHG emissions. A number of these options have an associated economic cost to the land manager and it is important to understand what is economically and socially viable by understanding the link between energy crop adoption and a range of socio-economic factors. Agent-based modelling (ABMs) has been identified as providing a promising approach to integrate social, economic and biophysical processes. In the past these areas of research have been mainly studied separately but now there is an urgent need to address these areas in a combined way. Economic rationalisation is fundamental to farmers’ decision-making, although not wholly representative and non-economic factors were identified. The estimated GHG mitigation potential of bioenergy crops at current adoption levels is modest when taking Scotland’s national GHG emissions into account, however, more significant when considering the agricultural sector in isolation. This contribution can only increase with improved management practices and policy designed to encourage adoption and improve energy security. This work will contribute to a greater understanding of bioenergy land use strategies. This project used North East Scotland as the case study, with raw data collated by questionnaire, however, conclusions drawn add to the broader understanding of the link between socio-economic activity, bioenergy adoption and GHG emissions.

Thesis (M.S.)--Auburn University, 2008. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 112-114).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2009. / Advisor: Kevin Shinners. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Bioenergy crops have attracted increasing interest over the last two decades as their potential to 1) improve national energy security, 2) substitute finite fuels with renewable alternatives, 3) reduce carbon (C) intensity of energy generation, and 4) remove CO2 from the atmosphere and sequester it in soils. In light of climate change predominantly caused by rising atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, the potential importance and value of bioenergy cannot be underestimated. This research used data from a single site in Lincolnshire, UK, in combination with new experimental techniques to examine the C dynamics associated with Miscantus x giganteus. The net C budgets were examined using long term eddy-covariance data alongside measurements of C stocks within the soil and litter layer. Results indicated that using a cradle-to-grave lifecycle analysis, and based on the productivity of this site, Miscanthus as an energy feedstock was marginally better than coal but more C intensive than natural gas. Further, soil C stocks were not seen to change significantly over the first 7 years of cropping. Consequently, a combination of soil fractionation and in combination with natural abundance stable C isotope techniques allowed rates of soil C gain or loss to be estimated over time. Soil C was observed to accumulate at fast rates in stable fractions, those that relate to model pools with turnover times well beyond the lifetime of a Miscanthus plantation – a result not predicted by model simulations performed with the systems models ECOSSE and DayCent. A review of six models parameterised for Miscanthus showed a number of factors that contribute to model uncertainty. The results from this thesis are a crucial first step to helping to define model parameters and improve model performance, and therefore to accurately predict the impacts of Miscanthus on C sequestration in a given location for given environmental conditions.

In this study, we used biofuel crops to treat the soils contaminated by heavy oil by using phytoremediation biotechniques. The experiments of this study were divided into tree stages. In the first stage, we simulated real situation, and planted biofuel crops ( soybeans, the sunflower),while the mycorrhizal fungi of Gloums mosseae inoculated the plants in the soils contaminated by oil pollution of fuel (10,000 ppm) artificially. In the soils, the plants were cultivated in pots of 63 days through the experiment. The experiment results revealed that the removal rate of oil was 70%. In the second stage, fuel oil was degraded and tested for the plants of biofuel crops ( soybeans, the sunflower). The specics of Gloums mixed with other species of mycorrhizal fungi were used in the soils contaminated by fuel (5000 ppm) artificially. In the soils, plants were cultivated in a pot of 30 days through the experiment. The experiment result revealed that the fuel oil removal rate was 60% in soils. In the third stage, the seed greasy dirt tolerance experiment were run for the biofuel crops ( soybeans, the sunflower, rape, maize).The fuel oil with three different concentrations (5000 ppm, 10,000 ppm, 30,000 ppm)were used in the polluted soils cultivated in a pot for 30 days through the experiment. The experimental result reveals, that sunflower and maize were found less apt to receive the inhibition of the fuel oil. During the first stage and second stage, the plant species of soybeans inoculated by mycorrhizal fungi, soybean presented significant phytostabilization and rhizodegradation, while the plant species of sunflower inoculated by mycorrhizal fungi also exhibited significant phytoextraction and rhizodegradation. In the future, they can match the other biofuel crops inoculated by different mycorrhizal fungi, which will increase the ability to remove fuel oil in the soil.