Growing interest in renewable and domestically produced energy motivates the evaluation of woody bioenergy feedstock production. In the southeastern U.S., woody feedstock plantations, primarily of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), would be intensively managed over short rotations (10-12 years) to achieve high yields.
This dataset reports the pre-treatment hydrology and pre- and post-treatment water quality data from a watershed-scale experiment that is evaluating the effects of growing short-rotation loblolly pine for bioenergy on water quality and quantity in the southeastern U.S. The experiment is taking place on the Savannah River Site, near New Ellenton, South Carolina, USA. Beginning in 2010, water quality and hydrology were measured for two years in 3 watersheds (R, B, C).
The objective of this research project was to assess whether standard forestry best management practices (BMPs) are sufficient to protect stream water quality from intensive silviculture associated with short-rotation woody crop (SRWC) production for bioenergy. Forestry BMPs are designed to prevent the movement of deleterious quantities of nutrients, herbicides, sediments, and thermal energy (sunlight hitting stream channels) from clear-cuts and plantations to surface waters.
This DOE BETO-funded research project examined the environmental effects of short-rotation loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) production for bioenergy in the southeastern US using a watershed-scale experiment in a before-after, control-impact design. Environmental measurements included water and soil quality, hydrology, tree productivity, and stand-level ecophysiology.
Short Rotation Woody Crop Production Scenarios Simulated for Idaho National Laboratory-ORNL Collaborations, June 2021.
This dataset applies biochar to short rotation woody crops for co-products of soil and yield improvements using the POLYSYS regional resiliency module (see Davis et al., 2018). For more information, please reach out to the author(s).
Nitrogen (N) is an important nutrient as it often limits productivity, but in excess can impair water quality. Most studies on watershed N cycling have occurred in upland forested catchments where snowmelt dominates N export; fewer studies have focused on low-relief watersheds that lack snow. We examined watershed N cycling in three adjacent, low-relief watersheds in the Upper Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States to better understand the role of hydrological flowpaths and biological transformations of N at the watershed scale.
This page provides supporting information (SI) prepared for the manuscript "Winter rye biomass can be an abundant and affordable US energy resource." It summarizes research developed through collaboration between USDA and Penn State winter rye subject matter experts and economists from ORNL's Bioresource Science and Engineering Group.