D.K. Lee

　　Associate Professor

　　University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

　　Beneficial bioenergy feedstocks should have positive environmental aspects and should not compete with food production. Our perennial prairie grasses can meet both of these requirements. Perennial grasses as dedicated energy crops have been estimated by agricultural models to have greater potential profits than conventional crops on approximately 16.9 million ha within the United States. The majority of this land, which is spread out through the tall grass prairies of North America, is considered marginal for crop production or is contracted to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) for soil and water conservation. Prior to agricultural production, the tall grass prairies were dominated by grasses such as big bluestem ( Andropogon gerardii Vitman), switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum L . ), and Indiangrass ( Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash) in dry prairies and by prairie cordgrass ( Spartina pectinata Link) in wet prairies. Due to their biomass yield potential, as well as their adaptability to marginal land abandoned from agricultural use, these grasses will minimize competition with food crop production and maximize producer resources while providing environmental benefits. Selecting the appropriate species will be a key factor for maximizing biomass production and environmental benefits for each landscape. Dramatic improvements in genetic resources and agronomic management technology are needed to reconfigure agriculture practices and land use to effectively meet the global demand for both food and bioenergy feedstocks. Moreover, doing so will also offer advantages in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, enhancing landscape biodiversity, as well as improving soil and water quality. Research in my program is focusing on identifying and developing the best genetic resources from our native prairies and implementing the best management practices to integrate these dedicated energy crops into our current cropping system. Recently, my research program has developed high yielding switchgrass, big bluestem, and prairie cordgrass that are well adapted to marginal lands.