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Chapter 19 C4 Species as Energy Crops

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C4 Photosynthesis and Related CO2 Concentrating Mechanisms

Part of the book series: Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration ((AIPH,volume 32))

Summary

The cultivation and utilisation of energy crops has the potential to provide, in the coming decades, part of the solution to the twin issues of substituting for fossil fuels and protection from damaging climate change by reducing carbon emissions. The ideal energy crop should have sustained capacity to capture and convert solar energy into harvestable biomass with maximal efficiency and with minimal inputs and environmental impacts. C4 plants, and in particular rhizomatous perennial grasses (PRGs), have many of the characteristics of the ‘ideal’ energy crop. Herbaceous perennial species require far fewer energy and capital inputs than annual crops and they also sequester more carbon in the soil. C4 photosynthesis also allows greater efficiencies in the conversion of solar energy to biomass energy, and of nitrogen and water use. Currently the most important feedstocks for biofuels are maize in the USA and sugarcane in Brazil, both C4 species. In temperate climatic regions, where there is the greatest current demand for renewable energy, few naturally occurring species have C4 photosynthesis. However, there are some notable exceptions, such as Miscanthus and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), which show significant cold tolerance and are currently being developed as energy crops. The unusual features of the C4 pathway in these species which appear to confer cold tolerance are reviewed. The recent drive to exploit the energy production and carbon emission mitigation potentials of C4 energy crops has been controversial because of the anticipated competition for use of land for food or fuel. Despite this, the yield benefits provided by C4 photosynthesis suggest that these species will make a significant contribution to bioenergy production over the near- and longer-terms.

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Abbreviations

LCA:

Life cycle analysis

LIHD:

Low input high diversity

NADP ME:

Nicatinamide adenine dinucleotide-malic enzyme

NEB:

Net energy balance

NUE:

Nitrogen use efficiency

PEP-CK:

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase

PNUE:

Photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency

PPDK:

Pyruvate orthophosphate dikinase

PRG:

Perennial rhizomatous grasses

RUE:

Radiation use efficiency

SOC:

Soil organic carbon

WUE:

Water use efficiency

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  1. Botany Department, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland

    Michael B. Jones

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  1. School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, 500046, India

    Agepati S. Raghavendra

  2. Dept. Botany, University of Toronto, Willcocks Street 25, Toronto, M5S 3B2, Ontario, Canada

    Rowan F. Sage

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Jones, M.B. (2010). Chapter 19 C4 Species as Energy Crops. In: Raghavendra, A., Sage, R. (eds) C4 Photosynthesis and Related CO2 Concentrating Mechanisms. Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration, vol 32. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9407-0_19

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