Bioproducts Green Crops, Biofuels

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Bio-products (Green Crops, Bio-fuels) The Green
Crop Network Donald L. Smith Plant Science
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Background

• Canada has committed to reduce its production of
  greenhouse gases (GHGs) over the next decade to
  6 below the 1990 levels by the end of the first
  Kyoto period, 2008 - 2012
• Currently the gap between GHG production and
  Kyoto target is estimated to be 270 Mt/yr CO2
  equivalents

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Canadian Opportunity

• Only 0.5 of the worlds population
• 7 of the earths land area
• 2-4 of the global CO2 exchange
• C cycling is high because of Canadas extensive
  plant covered biosphere (biomass)
• Northern latitude dispersed population means
  Canadians use a lot of fossil fuel
• Average per capita emissions of 5 T C per person
• currently only 6 of our energy requirements met
  from biomass sources

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Agriculture Contributes 60 Mt of 726 Mt total

• 8.3 of Canadas total annual GHG production (EC
  2004)
• Not including transportation
• fuel emissions

Methane 40 (enteric fermentation 78 manure 22)
Heat trapping CO2 1 CH4 21 N2O 310
Nitrous oxide 60
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Addressing GHG in Cropping Systems

• Decrease N2O emissions from soils
• Increase soil carbon stocks through better
  sequestration
• Optimise yields and
• performance under conditions
• of increasing CO2
• Use crops as feedstocks
• for bio-products

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General Background

• As part of a research effort to use the
  biosphere to manage Canadas greenhouse gas
  emissions we have established a national research
  network
• 55 researchers at 18 universities
• 1.2 million per year for 5 years
• Premise that plants have untapped capability
  in this regard
• The focus is R D
• The approach is networking

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Innovative Thinking, Enhanced Impact

• The GCN will generate new approaches to storing
  organic C, reducing GHG emissions, and
  diminishing reliance on fossil fuels
• Asks two fundamental questions
• Beyond the practices already available, how can
  we re-configure plants to augment existing C and
  N management opportunities?
• What approaches will work best in a changing
  environment notably, under higher CO2
  concentrations?
• Finding new ways of reducing net GHG emissions
  will have economic, environmental and human
  health benefits well beyond meeting geopolitical
  targets.

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Reducing GHG Impact

• Using best available current technologies
• Reduce N2O by 7.2 Mt/yr CO2 eq (efficiency)
• Sequester up to 20 Mt/yr CO2 eq through no-till
• Increase biofuel production through competitive
  use of the agricultural land base

• Using Green Crop Innovation
• Reduce N2O by 28 Mt/yr CO2 eq (altered NUE)
• Sequester additional 16 Mt/yr (total 36 Mt/yr)
• Increase biofuel production without competition
  for food production land base could reduce
  emissions by 58 Mt/yr CO2 eq

Net Gain of Green Crop Innovation about 90Mt/yr
CO2 eq (gt30 Kyoto target)
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Four Integrated Themes

• N2O emissions
• Soil C stocks
• Plant CO2 responses
• Biofuel Crops
• This is a real world problem and the parts can
  not be examined in isolation, so there will be
  constant and necessary interactions among the
  themes and projects

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Theme 1N2O Emissions

• J. Germida G. Kachanoski

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Background
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Background

• Plant roots and associated microorganisms key
  site for N2O loss from soils

• Drivers
• root exudates
• nutrient cycling - N transformations
• source of glomalin
• soil structure

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Background

• Can we reduce N loss by modifying plants and
  microbial activity?

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Theme 1 - N2O EmissionsG Kachanoski, J Germida

• Identification of regulatory genes to improve
  nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) S Rothstein, B
  Shelp
• Identification of regulatory genes to reduce N2O
  production I Altosaar, H Kronzucker
• Manipulation of rhizosphere organisms to enhance
  C-sequestration and reduce N2O emissions F
  Walley, J Germida, R Farrell
• Nitrous oxide emission from the rhizosphere
  Microbial coordination of sources and mitigation
  S Sicliano M Tenuta, F Walley, J Germida
• N2O from the soil to the atmosphere R Farrell, B
  Si ,D Knight, G Kachanoski, R Farrell
• Nitrogen fixation, hydrogen production and N2O
  emissions D Layzell, Z Dong, S Wood,

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Theme 2Soil Carbon Stocks

• H. Janzen and D. Smith

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Background

• cultivated soils have lost carbon

Post-cultivation losses 1 Pg C in
Canada (Smith et al. 2000 Janzen et al. 1998b)
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Background

• some lost C can be re-gained with better farming
  practices

• Benefits
• remove excess atmospheric CO2
• enhance ecosystem function

Stored C (Mg C ha-1)
Culti- vation
New practice
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Background

• Can we further augment C gain by modifying plants?

• past focus soil management
• our focus the plant/soil interface

Stored C (Mg C ha-1)
Culti- vation
New practice
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Theme 2 - Soil Carbon StocksH Janzen D Smith

• Manipulating lignin deposition B Ellis, C
  Douglas, L Samuels
• Microbial plant growth promotion, rhizosphere
  carbon cycle and impact on greenhouse gas
  emissions T Charles, B Glick, D Smith, C Greer
• Microbial control of plant responses to climate
  change related stresses D Smith, P Seguin, C
  Beaulieu, B Ma
• Transforming plant carbon into soil carbon
  Process-level controls on carbon sequestration J
  Whalen, E Gregorich, D Angers, P Rochette

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THEME 3 PLANT CO2 RESPONSES

• N Huner (Western)

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ThemeBackground

• Plants recycle (fix and release) an enormous
  amount of C each year
• There is a balance between photosynthetic
  fixation and respiratory losses
• All of this is affected by a wide range of
  environmental stresses
• It will be possible to provide a genetic and
  metabolic blue-print for enhanced plant carbon
  storage and biomass production through
  enhancement of C- and N-assimilation in response
  to elevated CO2, heat and drought stress
  associated with global warming.

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Theme 3 - Plant CO2 ResponsesN Huner

• Identification and characterization of plant
  variants exhibiting enhanced photosynthesis and
  biomass production under elevated CO2, high
  temperature and drought B Grodzinski, N Huner, L
  Savitch, L Robert, R Mullen, F Sarhan, J Singh
• Reverse engineering plant variants for direct
  carbon sink management Respiratory metabolism of
  natural plant variants with beneficial growth
  responses to prolonged elevated CO2 levels W
  Plaxton, G Vanlerberghe, K Ko
• Photoinhibition of photosynthesis R Carpentier
• Role of the chloroplast PII protein in regulating
  carbon-nitrogen balance G Moorhead
• Regulation of N-assimilation and biomass
  production H Kronzucker, J Schjoerring

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Theme 4 Bio-fuel Crops

• K. Vessey (SMU)
• Dr. W. Keller (NRC/PBI)

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Availability of Fossil Fuels

• Extraction of fossil fuels in the
  U.S. peaked in the early 70s
• Global extraction models show maximum
  extraction between 10 years ago and 20 years from
  now, i.e. about now

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Pressures on Fossil Fuels

• The rate of fossil fuel consumption is rising in
  developed countries
• The rate of demand by China is rising
  dramatically
• India is following China

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Alternative Energies

• There will be a need to develop all possible
  alternative energy sources
• Hydro (largely done)
• Photovoltaic solar
• Bio-solar
• Wind
• Tidal
• Geothermal

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Bio-fuels

• Biomass for direct combustion
• Fermentation of starch and cellulose to ethanol
• Bio-diesel
• Hydrogen from bio-mass

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Bio-fuel Considerations

• Benefits of bio-fuels
• Sustainable energy source
• No net CO2 emissions
• Problems
• Crop plants designed for food production and
  have small positive or even negative life cycle
  analyses for energy and greenhouse gases
• A large part of this is related to nitrogen
  fertilizers on the energy side and N2O on the
  greenhouse gas side

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Theme 4 Biofuel CropsK Vessey W Keller

• Identification of Brassica genotypes and
  molecular markers for increased seed-oil content
  R Scarth, G Li, G Rakow
• Investigation of oil biosynthetic enzymes in
  Brassica napus and Arabidopsis thaliana L Kunst,
  G Haugh, D Taylor
• The bilateral influence of plant and rhizosphere
  characteristics in Brassica sp. varying in seed
  oil productivity relevant to suitability as
  biofuel feedstocks. K Vessey D Burton, D Smith

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