Soil erosion and lateral carbon fluxes from corn stover-derived biofuel

Authors: Zhang, Xuesong; LEDUC, STEPHEN - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); KIM, SEUNGDO - Michigan State University; DALE, BRUCE - Michigan State University; ZHAO, K. - The Ohio State University; ZHOU, Y. - Iowa State University; McCarty, Gregory; Moglen, Glenn

Submitted to: Scientific Reports
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/16/2025
Publication Date: 5/26/2025
Citation: Zhang, X., Leduc, S.D., Kim, S., Dale, B.E., Zhao, K., Zhou, Y., Mccarty, G.W., Moglen, G.E. 2025. Soil erosion and lateral carbon fluxes from corn stover-derived biofuel. Scientific Reports. 15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-99218-y.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-99218-y

Interpretive Summary: Corn residue in the U.S. Midwest holds promise to produce a large amount of cellulosic biofuel and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the transportation sector. However, the environmental impacts of corn residue removal are not fully understood. Here we harness multiple recently developed high-resolution remote sensing data products, an advanced process-based agroecosystem model, and supercomputing power to quantify the increases in soil erosion and associated organic carbon loss due to residue removal in the US Midwest. We found that removing corn reside can substantially increase soil erosion depending on residue removal level, crop rotation (i.e., continuous corn vs. corn-soybean), and conservation practices. Our modeling results show that residue removal-induced increases in eroded soil organic carbon account for up to 33.2% of the mandated greenhouse gas intensity. Our findings call for further research to elucidate the fate of eroded soil organic carbon and provide more robust accounting of climate benefits of corn residue-derived biofuel.

Technical Abstract: Corn stover is a readily available feedstock for cellulosic biofuel production but its collection can have unintended environmental consequences. Here we employ agroecosystem modeling to conservatively estimate sediment and lateral carbon fluxes resulting from partial corn stover removal in the US Midwest. Results show substantial increases in soil erosion and associated economic costs due to stover removal (e.g., up to 39% increases in logistical cost of corn stover collection). Depending on removal intensity, conservation, and crop rotation, the stover removal-induced increases in eroded soil organic carbon are equivalent to 10.4% – 33.2% of the mandated greenhouse gas intensity (ca. 37.6 CO2e MJ-1) for cellulosic biofuel and are comparable to emissions from other major components of the biofuel supply chain. Therefore, the fate of lateral carbon fluxes associated with soil erosion should be elucidated for robust assessment of climate benefits of corn stover derived biofuel.