Nitrogen management through Miscanthus sinensis cultivation : toward new ecosystem services. Article to be soon published in GCB Bioenergy.

The key challenge is to produce high biomass yields while providing environmental benefits that are useful to people.

As a perennial, miscanthus can both absorb nitrogen from the soil and recycle it to sustain biomass production, which eliminates the need for additional nitrogen inputs.

Are there variations among individuals (genotypes) that enable greater or lesser nitrogen absorption and recycling efficiency?

• In a progeny of 80 distinct diploid Miscanthus sinensis genotypes, three groups showing contrasting nitrogen-use strategies were identified:
  • Group 1 (shown in green in the figure): Individuals that absorb large amounts of nitrogen and produce high biomass. These correspond to the “water regulation service” in drinking-water catchment areas where soils are sometimes overloaded with nitrogen from previous crops.
  • Group 2 (shown in brown): Individuals that recycle nitrogen efficiently while maintaining high biomass production. These are associated with the “supporting service”, particularly relevant on nitrogen-limited soils that are difficult to valorize with other crops.
  • Group 3 (shown in red): Individuals with limited agronomic values, serving mainly as a contrast to highlight the superiority of the other two groups.

Future perspective:

It will be important to breed sterile Miscanthus sinensis genotypes to enable large-scale cultivation while minimizing the risk of invasiveness through seed dispersal in the environment.