Researchers say higher water use of energy crops must factor into sustainability debate

In Illinois, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign say that the sustainability of water must be taken into effect when exploring large-scale production of biomass crops like miscanthus and switchgrass because of their much higher water use than corn. Because the grasses have more surface area and much denser growth than corn they lose more water through transpiration, causing them to pull more water from the soil.