Article Sounds Warning on Search for Biofuels

Date: 9/25/06
Contact: Marc Lebovitz

A plant called giant reed (Arundo donax L.) was introduced to United States soil several hundred years ago for erosion control in drainage canals. Today it is viewed as a troublesome, invasive plant in the southwestern states and is labeled "a noxious weed" in Texas.

The sweet-smelling plant kudzu was introduced to the southern U.S. about 130 years ago as an ornamental, for erosion control and even for feeding foraging animals. By the 1950s, however, the government encouraged farmers to stop planting kudzu because it was growing quickly and pervasively into areas no one wanted it - up trees, power poles and buildings. Forests were endangered because the huge kudzu vines would block the sun. Some people called it "the plant that ate the South."

Now that the federal government has started to encourage the search for plants that could be used for biofuel, will they do all the research to avoid the creation of the next giant reed or kudzu?

In an article released Sept. 22 in the internationally prestigious journal, Science, Illinois State University Distinguished Professor of Ecology Roger C. Anderson, co-author of "Adding Biofuels to the Invasive Species Fire?" argues that these species must be screened for their potential to become invasive species.

"Many of the species commonly proposed as biofuel plants share numerous traits in common with invasive plants, which is a good indicator of a plants' likelihood to become invasive," Anderson said. Invasive species as a group cause an estimated 123 to 137 billion dollars of damage annually in the United States. As defined by the United States government, invasive species are alien species that enter novel environments and cause economic damage, human problems or harm the environment."

In a large number of cases, species introduced for agricultural purposes have become invasive. In addition to giant reed and kudzu, hemp was widely planted in the Midwest in the 1940's, as well as Johnson grass. Johnson grass was introduced as a pasture grass and is considered to be an invasive species in 16 of the 48 states in which it occurs. Competitive losses for cotton and soybean due to Johnson grass in three states alone are estimated to be in excess of $30 million annually.

Illinois State's John Sedbrook, a molecular plant biologist, and his students are determining how plants store energy in their cell walls, with the goal of finding economical ways to convert that energy into biofuels.

"There is a tremendous amount of energy locked up in plant materials such as corn stalks, wood chips and the up and coming bioenergy crops switchgrass and Miscanthus," Sedbrook said. He added that the United States Government has set a goal of, within 25 years, displacing a third of our country's petroleum needs by generating fuel ethanol and other biofuels from this biomass. Sedbrook thinks "this goal is very doable with adequate research funding."

In addition, Roger Anderson points out that both Miscanthus and the varieties of switchgrass commonly proposed as biofuel plants share many traits in common with invasive plants, and need to be carefully screened for their invasiveness before they are widely planted in agricultural fields.

"It is in the country's interest to be smart about how we approach the development of varieties of bioenergy crops to insure that they don't inadvertently harm the environment," Anderson said. "With invasive species, once they become established in the environment, it is like letting the genie out of the bottle with little hope of getting it back."

Anderson's article in Science can be viewed on line at http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/313/5794/1742

Sedbrook will touch on this subject when he delivers the Department of Physics Fall Colloquium at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3, on Petroleum, Global Warming and the Future of Biofuels." His talk is free and will take place in room 214 of Moulton Hall.