Title: Invasive Species Biology, Ecology, management and risk assessment: Evaluating and mitigating the invasion risk of biofuel crops
Abstract: Biofuel crops are being selected to require
minimal inputs, tolerate marginal growing conditions, and exhibit rapid growth
rates—agronomically desirable traits that also characterize many of our worst
invasive species. Many of the candidate biofuel crops are known invasive or
noxious species in portions of their non-native range. Most invasive species
were intentionally introduced and cause tremendous environmental and economic
harm globally. Necessary elements for the sustainable production of bioenergy
include assessment and subsequent mitigation of the invasive potential of
biofuel crops prior to large-scale adoption, as the economic benefits of
bio-based energy may be offset by environmental damage and management costs. We
outline a proposed invasiveness risk evaluation to be conducted on each crop,
and subsequent mitigating practices along each step of the biofuel pathway.
[Jacob N. Barney & Joseph M. DiTomaso (2010). Invasive Species Biology,
Ecology, management and risk assessment: Evaluating and mitigating the invasion
risk of biofuel crops. Plant Biotechnology for Sustainable Production of Energy
and Co-products. Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry, Volume 66, Part 3,
263-284, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-13440-1_9]