Davis College
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The Associated Press profiles a new WVU project that explores the potential of switchgrass as a crop for reclaimed mine sites. Jeff Skousen, Professor of Soil Science in the Davis College and WVU Extension’s Land Reclamation Specialist, is a key player in the project.

“Switchgrass and its energy-producing potential are hot topics among researchers nationwide. At Oklahoma State University, for example, the federal government is investing $20 million in research on how best to convert it and other grasses into biofuel.

“Skousen, a soil science professor at West Virginia University, has a more narrow focus: Can the slow-starting switchgrass take hold on mine sites that often are stripped of topsoil, eroded and acidic, or loaded with rocks?”

Visit The Charleston Gazette to read the full story.