Can bioenergy crops contribute to improving water quality?
Many watersheds in the USA experience extensive degradation from run-off from agricultural operations. Biomass crops can contribute to improving water quality by providing a continuous soil cover that helps stabilize the soil, decreases transport of nutrients, and protects the soil from erosion. The perennial cover provided by bioenergy crops reduces rainfall impact on the soil and sediment transport compared with annual row crops. Bioenergy crops do not require extensive fertilization like agricultural crops, so that there are lower levels of nutrients to be transported by run-off from production sites. Run-off is generally negligible once bioenergy crops are established.
