MAES News
July 1, 2009
- MAES Biofuel Expert Co-authors Scientific American Cover Story
- MAES Researcher Part of Group Advising Government How to Make Climate Change Decisions
- Study Highlights Massive Imbalances in Global Fertilizer Use
- New Emerald Ash Borer Insecticide Guide Now Available
- MAES Scientist's Firm is First Bioeconomy Institute Tenant in Holland
- Weed Tour Set for July 1
- Going Native May Lower Pest Control Costs and Increase Yields
Bruce
Dale, MAES chemical engineering and materials science researcher and associate director of the Office of Biobased Technologies, who also serves as editor-in-chief of Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining (Biofpr), has spent his entire 30-plus-year career studying ways to turn biomass (plant leaves and stems, tree trunks and branches) into biofuels. He rarely passes up an opportunity to explain the concepts behind cellulosic ethanol, no matter how large or small the group. So it's no surprise to see "Grassoline at the Pump," an article he wrote with George Huber, of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, as the cover story in the July 2009 issue of Scientific American.
"We can produce ethanol and other transportation fuels from cellulosic materials," Dale said. "One of the most important things that we as scientists can do is to help everyone understand the difference between making biofuels from grain and making biofuels from cellulose."
Huber, an expert in thermochemical approaches to biofuel production, asked Dale to lend his expertise in biochemical approaches and help write the article.
"I gave it the name and a beautiful piece of literature was born," Dale added with a laugh.
"Grassoline at the Pump” is available online.
MAES Researcher Part of Group Advising Government How to Make Climate Change Decisions
Creating government policies that influence climate change -- setting auto or industrial emission levels, for example -- requires considering the needs of industry, consumers and the environment, as well as scientific research priorities, says an MAES scientist.
Joe Arvai, associate director of the MSU Environmental Science and Policy Program and judgment and decision-making researcher, was part of a national expert panel that recently published a report aimed at helping federal, state and local officials make better decisions about affecting climate change.
"Right now, decisions on climate change are made on a patchwork basis," said Arvai, who was one of 15 authors of Informing Decisions in a Changing Climate. "The report discusses how government agencies and officials can make better climate decisions and gives them recommendations and models to do so."
Creating a coordinated national effort to monitor and respond to climate change is one of the report's recommendations. Such an effort might take the form of a new agency -- a national climate service -- which could operate in much the same way as the Department of Homeland Security oversees domestic aspects of national security, Arvai said.
"Greater coordination at the national level would offer clear guidance and would set the stage for an information clearinghouse on climate change," Arvai explained. "This will help ensure that policies don't conflict or undercut each other. Congress and the White House are very interested in this report."
Sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and published by the National Academies Press, Informing Decisions in a Changing Climate will be used by the leadership committee of the America’s Climate Choices study, which will assess short-term actions and long-term strategies for mitigating and adapting to climate change. Thomas Dietz, MSU assistant vice president for environmental research, is a member of the America's Climate Choices leadership committee.
Copies of Informing Decisions in a Changing Climate are available from the National Academies Press.
Study Highlights Massive Imbalances in Global Fertilizer Use
An international team of ecologists and agricultural experts cautioned against blanket solutions to global fertilizer pollution because some regions still suffer greatly from lack of cropland nutrients.
Synthetic fertilizers have dramatically increased food production worldwide, but the unintended costs have been substantial. Nitrogen runoff from farms contaminates surface water and groundwater and has created massive "dead zones" in coastal areas such as the Gulf of Mexico. Ammonia from fertilized cropland is a major source of air pollution, and nitrous oxide emissions form a potent greenhouse gas.
Some have called for reductions in the use of synthetic fertilizers. But MAES crop and soil scientist Phil Robertson and colleagues warn against a "one-size-fits-all" approach to managing global food production. They argue against such measures in a report published in the June 19 issue of the journal Science.
"Avoiding the misery of hunger is and should be a global human priority," said Robertson. "But we should also find ways to do this without sacrificing other key aspects of human welfare, among them a clean environment. It doesn't have to be an either/or choice."
"Most agricultural systems follow a trajectory from too little in the way of added nutrients to too much, and both extremes have substantial human and environmental costs," said lead author Peter Vitousek, professor of biology at Stanford University.
"Some parts of the world, including much of China, use far too much fertilizer," Vitousek said. "But in sub-Saharan Africa -- where 250 million people remain chronically malnourished -- nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrient inputs are inadequate to maintain soil fertility."
The paper compares fertilizer use in three corn-growing regions of the world -- northern China, western Kenya and the upper Midwestern United States.
In China, the average grain yield per acre grew 98 percent between 1977 and 2005, while nitrogen fertilizer use increased 271 percent. Much of the excess is lost to the environment, degrading both air and water quality, according to the authors.
At the other extreme are the poorer countries of sub-Saharan Africa, such as Kenya and Malawi. A 2004 study found that western Kenyan farmers used only about 6 pounds of nitrogen fertilizer per acre -- little more than 1 percent of the total used by Chinese farmers. Cultivated soil in Kenya suffered an annual net loss of 46 pounds of nitrogen per acre, removed from the fields by harvests.
The contrast between Kenya and China is dramatic and will require vastly different solutions, the authors said. However, large-scale change is possible, they added, noting that since the 1980s, increasingly stringent national and European Union regulations and policies have reduced nitrogen surpluses substantially in northern Europe.
In the Midwest, overfertilization was the norm from the 1970s until the mid-1990s. Since 1995, the imbalance of nutrients -- particularly phosphorus -- has decreased in the Midwest, in part because better farming techniques have increased yields. From 2003 to 2005, annual corn yields in parts of the Midwest and northern China were almost the same, even though Chinese farmers used six times more nitrogen fertilizer than their American counterparts.
In sub-Saharan Africa, the initial challenge is to increase productivity and improve soil fertility, the authors said.
For countries where overfertilization is a problem, the authors cited a number of techniques to reduce environmental damage:
- Better targeted timing and placement of fertilizers.
- Modifications of livestock diets.
- Preservation or restoration of vegetation buffer strips along waterways.
Designing sustainable solutions will require much more scientific data.
"Our lack of effective policies can be attributed, in part, to a lack of good on-farm data about what's happening with nutrient input and loss over time," said co-author Alan Townsend, associate professor at the University of Colorado-Boulder. "Both China and the European Union have supported agricultural research that yields policy-relevant information on nutrient balances. But the U.S. is particularly lacking in long-term data for a country with such a well-developed scientific enterprise."
This work is based on discussions at the Aspen Global Change Institute, supported by NASA, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation; and at a meeting of the International Nitrogen Initiative, sponsored by the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment.
New Emerald Ash Borer Insecticide Guide Now Available
Homeowners, arborists and tree care specialists nationwide now have a comprehensive guide on emerald ash borer (EAB) control. The insect pest feeds under the bark and has killed tens of millions of ash trees in Michigan and northern Ohio alone.
"Insecticide Options for Protecting Ash Trees from Emerald Ash Borer," written by research specialists from Michigan State University, Ohio State University, Purdue University, the University of Wisconsin and the University of Illinois, is available online. Printed copies also are available.
"This guide is the result of years of research on EAB and potential options for protecting landscape ash trees. It provides the most up-to-date information on insecticides that can be used to combat this pest, as well as what to consider before treating ash trees," said Deborah McCullough, MAES forest entomologist. "The guide is a collaborative effort to bring the best knowledge we have to people living in areas with EAB."
"Our understanding of how EAB can be managed successfully with insecticides has increased substantially in recent years," said lead author Dan Herms, an entomologist with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) and OSU Extension. "There are effective treatments available for both professionals and do-it-yourselfers, including some that are applied in the soil, injected in the trunk of the tree, or sprayed on the trunk, branches or foliage."
Since it was discovered in 2002 in the Detroit area, EAB has been found in 12 states (most recently Kentucky) and two Canadian provinces. It continues to kill tens of millions of ash trees. Because the pest was virtually unknown outside its native Asia before 2002, scientists have been scrambling to find out all they could about the pest and the best ways to control it.
"People still want to know if they can either save or protect their ash trees from EAB," said David Smitley, MAES entomologist. "The information in this guide should be very helpful for those dealing with EAB or contemplating what to do as infestations are found in their area."
The guide includes frequently asked questions, information on insecticide products available for EAB control and how to use them, and a summary of results from studies that tested the effectiveness of the various insecticides. The guide also presents key points to consider and recommendations for dealing with EAB.
"As EAB infestations continue to be found, it's important for everyone to realize that North America could lose its entire ash resource -- that’s at least 15 ash species," McCullough said. "Though insecticides can effectively protect valuable ash trees in the landscape, billions of ash trees in U.S. forests will not be treated. These trees will eventually be killed by EAB. To help slow the spread of EAB, we encourage people to buy their firewood locally, burn it completely before leaving a campsite and avoid transporting ash firewood."
MAES Scientist's Firm is First Bioeconomy Institute Tenant in Holland
A technology spinoff company led by MAES biochemistry researcher Rawle
Hollingsworth is the first tenant in the MSU Bioeconomy Institute, located in a former Pfizer Inc. laboratory in Holland, Mich.
Hollingsworth has operated his company, AFID Therapeutics Inc., in laboratory space at MBI International in Lansing since 2004, developing technology licensed from MSU. It now will expand development work in western Michigan.
Hollingsworth's research on complex carbohydrates derived from biomass and sugars forms the basis for developing high-value chemical compounds. The compounds can be used to create drugs for infectious diseases and autoimmune, cardiovascular and neurological disorders, as well as specialty chemicals for other purposes.
AFID is developing material for more than 100 companies around the world to use for testing and further development.
"At MBI, we are working in a laboratory where we can produce 3 or 4 liters [about 1 gallon] of biochemical product," Hollingsworth said. "At the Bioecononmy Institute in Holland, we have access to a pilot plant where we can process 4,000-liter batches."
Scale-up of AFID Therapeutics' processes began in late May under the leadership of William Freckman, MSU's Holland site director of operations. Ultimately, AFID Therapeutics hopes to employ 10 engineers and chemists there in addition to a similar number at its Lansing laboratory.
Weed Tour Set for July 1
Growers can get the latest information on strategies for dealing with weeds during the MSU Weed Tour, set for July 1.
Hosted by the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, the event includes a tour of weed management plots at the MSU Crops Laboratory at the corner of Beaumont Road and Mt. Hope Road and at the MSU Horticulture Farm.
Participants will see firsthand how various weed control methods work and which ones are best for high-density weed areas. The tour features information on weed management and other crop protection and crop management strategies.
Participants can also compare their favorite corn and soybean herbicide programs to other commercial programs and evaluate how new transgenic crops interact with weed management strategies.
To learn more, visit www.msuweeds.com or contact Deb Misiak in Crop and Soil Sciences by telephone at 517-355-0271, ext. 1112, or e-mail misiak@msu.edu.
Going Native May Lower Pest Control Costs and Increase Yields
MAES entomologists have found that native bees and insect predators with access to native plants do a great job of pollinating crops and consuming insect pests. This can add up to lower pest control expenses and higher yields at harvest.
In a two-year study recently published in the Ecological Society of America's journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, they found 26 native Michigan plants that were highly attractive to pollinators and beneficial predatory insects. By establishing native plants that support beneficial insects, farmers may experience improved pollination and pest control. That can mean lower costs and higher profits along with the associated environmental benefits.
Though the study was aimed at finding plants for use in agricultural settings, the same plants will perform similar functions in suburban and urban landscapes. With more people growing large gardens, that can mean more improved harvests at the end of the summer.
"Homeowners can benefit from including these plants in their landscapes," said Rufus Isaacs, MAES entomologist and the report’s principal author. "Squash, pumpkins, strawberries and raspberries will yield larger fruit with good pollination. Providing these plants to improve your habitat for bees and other beneficial insects pays dividends to the home gardener."
The study required the team to monitor insect activity on 43 native plant species. The researchers used a retrofitted shop vacuum to suck flying insects from the plants and then took the filled bags to the laboratory, where they identified and counted the insects on each plant species when it was in bloom. The top 26 insect-attracting plants are listed online.
Results show that planting species as Culver's root, blue lobelia and Riddell's goldenrod along a fence row or a garden border can entice native bees. Golden Alexanders, sand coreopsis and pale-leaved sunflowers were among the species found to attract native predators.
"We see this as a win-win for agriculture and the environment," said MAES entomologist Doug Landis, another study author. "All of the plants we tested are prairie and savanna plants that were once common in our region, but these have become relatively rare in agricultural landscapes. Reestablishing these species on farms adds natural beauty and can benefit a variety of native wildlife such as birds and butterflies in addition to beneficial insects."
The research has jumped across oceans. With input from the MAES researchers, a similar project is under way in Argentina. Landis and other scientists also are traveling to the central Asian countries of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to check on studies they initiated there.
"Every region of the world has its own unique native plants and insects. We teach people the basic techniques, and they conduct the screening for themselves," Landis said.
This work was funded by Project GREEEN (Generating Research and Extension to meet Economic and Environmental Needs), the plant industry initiative at MSU; the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension program and its National Research Initiative; and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
