Carbo-BioCrop: Carbon balance under perennial bioenergy crops
- Key Staff:
- Dr. Saran P. Sohi
- Timescale:
- Jan 2011 - Jan 2014
- Funding:
- Research Council (NERC)
- Partners in Research:
- University of Southampton, CEH Lancaster, IBERS, Rothamsted Research, University of Warwick
Carbo-BioCrop is a consortium project funded by NERC under the "Land Based Renewables" intiative and led by the University of Southampton.
The project has its own website.
As part of WorkPackage II the University of Edinburgh has visited 89 former pasture and arable sites that have been under Miscanthus (elephant grass) or short-rotation willow crops (bioenergy) for different amounts of time (up to 20 years).
The effect of biochar addition in moderating the transition of soils from arable or grassland agriculture to energy crops is being investigated by UKBRC. Gary McClean and Rebecca Rowe set up replicate micro-plots amended with Miscanthus straw biochar at each site during 2011. During 2013 Gary is re-visiting sites to sample and analyse the amended soils.