More research needed to make good on biofuel promise, e...(y high ethanol demand can degrade soil a...)

Doering, recently appointed to the Environmental Protection Agency's Scientific Advisory Board, said more work is needed to develop and successfully apply "best management practices" to minimize nutrient, chemical and water use while limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

It's important to remember, Doering said, that existing best management practices can help soften the impact of increased corn production and intensified agriculture. Such practices include no-till farming methods, planting of cover crops, diversity-oriented crop rotation and inclusion of uncultivated fallow land into the landscape. All these practices help retain soil nutrients and offer benefits like wildlife habitat and natural pest suppression.

Cellulose, a complex carbohydrate present in all plant tissues, is more abundant in plants than starch. Humans also are unable to digest cellulose. This means cellulosic feedstocks are less likely to displace acreage devoted to food crops.

"The paper is really a plea to think carefully before jumping into cellulosics," Doering said. "We want to avoid making mistakes we're likely to later regret."

Michigan State University researcher G. Philip Robertson was lead author of the Science article. Authors hail from universities and institutions from two countries and 16 states.

"Business as usual writ larger is not an environmentally welcome outcome," the authors conclude.

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