water use and water-use efficiency of three perennial bioenergy grass crops in florida用水和水资源效率的三个生物能源草多年生作物在佛罗里达州.pdfVIP

Agriculture 2012, 2, 325-338; doi:10.3390/agriculture2040325 OPEN ACCESS agriculture ISSN 2077-0472 /journal/agriculture Article Water Use and Water-Use Efficiency of Three Perennial Bioenergy Grass Crops in Florida John E. Erickson 1,*, Arkorn Soikaew 2, Lynn E. Sollenberger 1 and Jerry M. Bennett 1 1 Agronomy Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; E-Mails: lesollen@ (L.E.S.); jmbt@ (J.M.B.) 2 School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; E-Mail: iamdim@ * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: jerickson@; Tel.: +352-392-6189; Fax: +352-392-6110. Received: 31 July 2012; in revised form: 26 September 2012 / Accepted: 29 September 2012 / Published: 19 October 2012 Abstract: Over two-thirds of human water withdrawals are estimated to be used for agricultural production, which is expected to increase as demand for renewable liquid fuels from agricultural crops intensifies. Despite the potential implications of bioenergy crop production on water resources, few data are available on water use of perennial bioenergy grass crops. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare dry matter yield, water use, and water-use efficiency (WUE) of elephantgrass, energycane, and giant reed, grown under field conditions for two growing seasons in North Central Florida. Using scaled sap flow sensor data, water use ranged from about 850 to 1150 mm during the growing season, and was generally g