Screening of Common Herbaceous and Woody Biomass Feedstock Species for Flood Tolerance.

Production of biofuel from corn or other food crops is unsustainable since it creates artificial shortages in food supply, increases in food price, and subsequent socio-economic and environmental consequences.  Second generation biofuels, however, has shown promise with improvement in technologies for converting cellulosic feedstock into liquid transportation fuels. Promising biomass species include short rotation trees such as poplar and willow, perennial grasses such as miscanthus and switchgrass and annuals like high biomass sorghum. The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance and suitability of four promising biomass species for survival, establishment,  and flood tolerance in a midwestern floodplain. Fifteen varieties/cultivars each for poplar, willow, switchgrass, and sorghum (three replicates) were planted in the flood lab located at the Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center (HARC) of the University of Missouri Columbia. Imposed flood treatments would be for 1, 2, 3 and 5 weeks. Establishment of willow, poplar, switchgrass, and sorghum was recorded. Willow average height after 12 weeks after planting (WAP) was 32.88 cm while for cottonwood the average height was 39.58 cm. Average sorghum height was 53.5 cm at 8 WAP, while switchgrass achieved an average height of 48 cm at 8 weeks after transplanting.