A STELLA model to predict water use, nutrient uptake, and biomass production in a short-rotation bioenergy plantation
Abstract
Short-rotation woody crops have been identified as one of the best feedstocks for bioenergy production due to their fast-growth rate and coppicing ability. However, the biomass production, nutrient uptake, and water use efficiency under site-specific conditions are still poorly understood. In this study, a computer model was developed to undertake these issues using STELLA (StructuralThinking and Experiential Learning Laboratory with Animation) software. The model was calibrated with one set of experimental data and validated with another set of experimental data prior to its applications. Two simulation scenarios were employed: one was to quantify the mechanisms of water use, nitrogen uptake and biomass production in an eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides) plantation for a simulation period of 20 yearsas affected by soil hydrologic and climatic conditions without fertilization, the other was to estimate the same mechanisms and conditions with fertilization. In general, the rates of evaporation, transpiration, evapotranspiration (ET), and root water uptake were in the following order: ET > root uptake > leaf transpiration > soil evaporation. A profound discrepancy in water use was observed with and without fertilization. Leaching of nitrate-N and soluble organic N depended not only on soil N content but also on rainfall rate and duration. The yield of biomass from the cottonwood was primarily regulated by water availability in a fertilized plantation. This study suggests that the STELLA model developed is a useful tool for cost-effective estimations of biomass production associated with water and N use efficiency in bioenergy production plantations.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFM.H43C2382O
- Keywords:
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- 1632 Land cover change;
- GLOBAL CHANGEDE: 1834 Human impacts;
- HYDROLOGYDE: 1847 Modeling;
- HYDROLOGYDE: 1879 Watershed;
- HYDROLOGY