Ecological Efficiency of Maize-Based Cropping Systems for Biogas Production
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Ecological Efficiency of Maize-Based Cropping Systems for Biogas Production Nikolai Svoboda 1,4 & Friedhelm Taube 1 & Christof Kluß 1 & Babette Wienforth 2 & Klaus Sieling 2 & Mario Hasler 3 & Henning Kage 2 & Susanne Ohl 5 & Eberhard Hartung 5 & Antje Herrmann 1
# Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015
Abstract The design of site-adapted biogas cropping systems that combine high methane yield and low environmental impact represents a major challenge for biogas production. A 2-year field experiment was conducted at Hohenschulen, northern Germany, to quantify the nitrate leaching potential and the ecological efficiency, in terms of nitrate-N load per megaliter methane produced, of three maize-based biogas cropping systems: continuous maize (CS1), maize-whole-crop wheat followed by Italian ryegrass as catch crop (CS2), and maize-grain wheat followed by mustard as catch crop (CS3). Crops were fertilized with different levels of digestate, liquid pig manure, or mineral N fertilizer. Leachate was simulated using a plant-soil model, and the nitrate-N load was obtained as the product of measured nitrate-N concentration and the amount of simulated drainage. Regression functions quantifying the relations between nitrate-N load or ecological efficiency and total N input revealed a lower potential nitrate load for CS2 than CS1 and CS3. This indicates a less severe trade-off between methane yield and water pollution * Antje Herrmann [email protected] 1
Institute of Crop Science and Plant Breeding, Grass and Forage Science/Organic Agriculture, Kiel University, Hermann-RodewaldStr. 9, 24118 Kiel, Germany
2
Institute of Crop Science and Plant Breeding, Agronomy and Crop Science, Kiel University, Hermann-Rodewald-Str. 9, 24118 Kiel, Germany
3
Variationsstatistik, Kiel University, Hermann-Rodewald-Str. 9, 24118 Kiel, Germany
4
Institute of Land Use Systems, Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research, Eberswalder Straße 84, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany
5
Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Kiel University, Max-Eyth-Str. 6, 24118 Kiel, Germany
for CS2. At the N input required for maximum yield, however, CS1 resulted in lower or similar nitrate-N load than CS2 and CS3. A similar pattern was detected for ecological efficiency, which varied between 2.8 and 6.3 kg nitrate-N (megaliter CH4)−1. Mineral N fertilizer resulted in higher nitrate-N load than digestate and liquid pig manure for a given total N input. Liquid pig manure tended to cause higher nitrate-N load and lower ecological efficiency than digestate, but differences were not significant. Potential environmental benefits from biogas production can be counteracted by adverse environmental impacts such as the pollution of water bodies. The results of the short-term study suggest that choosing the appropriate N source and N rate is more important than maize cropping system selection in maximizing ecological efficiency. Keywords Biogas residue . Modeling . Rotation . Cover crop . Methane yield . Ecological efficiency
Introduction The promotion
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