UW-Madison: Grassland biofuels could benefit people and birds in Wisconsin and beyond

CONTACT: Peter Blank, 251-441-5857, pblank@abcbirds.org;
Monica Turner, 608-262-2592, turnermg@wisc.edu

MADISON – Grassland bioenergy could be a win-win for Wisconsin’s farmers and its wildlife.

A new University of Wisconsin-Madison and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources study shows that converting marginal farmlands to perennial grassland biofuel crops could spell big gains for both landowners and birds in Wisconsin. It could support a host of other natural benefits, too, from creating habitat for pollinators to keeping nutrients in the soil and out of waterways.

“In southern Wisconsin and throughout the Midwest, we expect a lot out of our landscapes,” says study co-author Monica Turner, the Eugene P. Odum Professor of Ecology and a Vilas Research Professor. “This study can give guidance to landowners on how to maintain multiple natural benefits while making a living off their land.”

The study does not suggest farmers take their hardest working lands out of crop production; rather, it demonstrates that switching marginal, highly erodible farmlands to soil-stabilizing grasslands could instead help produce valuable bioenergy crops while also supporting birds.

Read more at http://news.wisc.edu/grassland-biofuels-could-benefit-people-and-birds-in-wisconsin-and-beyond/