Why not harvest existing invaders for bioethanol?

Lauren D. Quinn, A. Bryan Endres, Thomas B. Voigt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Some ecologists and environmentalists have asked whether existing plant invaders could be used as sources of lignocellulosic ethanol, as an alternative to the introduction of potentially invasive non-native energy crops. Although the idea is tempting and could theoretically motivate the control or eradication of large invasive populations, we recognize that a number of major economic, logistic, and legal barriers currently prevent adoption of this plan. Here, we enumerate these barriers in detail, but conclude with an idealistic vision for the role of invasive biomass in the bioenergy industry.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1559-1566
Number of pages8
JournalBiological Invasions
Volume16
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2014

Keywords

  • Bioenergy
  • Biofuel
  • Biomass
  • Biorefinery
  • Ethanol
  • Invasive
  • Weed

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Ecology

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