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Dr. Tom Richard of the Pennsylvania State University will present “After Abundance: Sustainable Biofuel Production in a Carbon-Constrained World” at 10:00 a.m. Monday, Feb. 16, in 320 Percival Hall on West Virginia University’s Evansdale Campus.

“The last two years have seen serious critiques of previous assumptions about the nature and scale of a sustainable biomass feedstock supply,” Richard said. “Issues of soil carbon, indirect land-use, and competition with food and feed have driven many of those concerns.” In his presentation, Richard will analyze four strategies for their ability to produce large quantities of biofuel feedstocks without negative impacts on food production or the environment. These include:

1. Organic wastes, including Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), food processing wastes, wood processing residues, livestock mortalities and manure;
2. Perennial crops (short rotation trees or grasses) on abandoned or marginal land, and as streamside buffers and roadside plantings;
3. Integration of energy crops with food crops to increase the productivity of existing agricultural land, without reducing food production, and with enhanced environmental outcomes. Strategies include a) cover crops (winter canola, winter barley, winter rye); and b) crop residues (corn stover, wheat straw, etc.) when harvested at rates that maintain or enhance soil carbon and limit erosion – with enhanced harvests possible in combination with the cover crops;
4. Enhanced management of forest landscapes. Many U.S. forests are overstocked with small diameter non-timber species. Thinning is widely recognized as improving wildlife habitat and forest recreation as well as timber production. As with cover crops, forest thinning for biofuels can provide an economic incentive for environmental enhancement.

This seminar will explore these opportunities for realizing a more productive landscape, supplying sustainable bioenergy resources, food and fiber, and enhancing environmental outcomes.

Tom Richard is the Director of Penn State’s Institutes for Energy and the Environment and a Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. PSIEE supports the work of over 500 faculty and staff at Penn State engaged in energy and environmental research, teaching and outreach. Dr. Richard maintains an active research program developing sustainable bioenergy systems, with over 100 research and technical publications. He is active in several professional societies and a Fellow of the Institute of Biological Engineering. Dr. Richard has a B.S. from the University of California at Berkeley, and M.S. and PhD degrees from Cornell University.