Nonnative species and bioenergy: Are we cultivating the next invader?
Barney, J; Ditomaso, J
| HERO ID | 200035 |
|---|---|
| In Press | No |
| Year | 2008 |
| Title | Nonnative species and bioenergy: Are we cultivating the next invader? |
| Authors | Barney, J; Ditomaso, J |
| Journal | BioScience |
| Volume | 58 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Page Numbers | 64-70 |
| Abstract | Biofuel feedstocks are being selected, bred, and engineered from nonnative taxa to have few resident pests, to tolerate poor growing conditions, and to produce highly competitive monospecific stands-traits that typify much of our invasive flora. We used a weed risk-assessment protocol, which categorizes the risk of becoming invasive on the basis of biogeography, history, biology, and ecology, to qualify the potential invasiveness of three leading biofuel candidate crops--switchgrass, giant reed, and miscanthus (a sterile hybrid)--under various assumptions. Switchgrass was found to have a high invasive potential in California, unless sterility is introduced; giant reed has a high invasive potential in Florida, where large plantations are proposed; miscanthus poses little threat of escape in the United States. Each biofuel crop shares many characteristics with established invasive weeds with a similar life history. We propose genotype-specific preintroduction screening for a target region, which consists of risk analysis, climate-matching modeling, and ecological studies of fitness responses to various environmental scenarios. This screening procedure will provide reasonable assurance that economically beneficial biofuel crops will pose a minimal risk of da maging native and managed environs. |
| Doi | 10.1641/B580111 |
| Wosid | WOS:000252572300012 |
| Is Certified Translation | No |
| Dupe Override | No |
| Comments | N1-Nonnative species and bioenergy: Are we cultivating the next invader?ID-1422 |
| Is Public | Yes |
| Keyword | biofuels; ethanol; invasive species; weed risk assessment; bioenergy |
| Is Qa | No |