Biofuels in Wisconsin: Boon or bane for birds?

Biofuels in Wisconsin: Boon or Bane for Birds?

 

David W. Sample Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, WI

Christine A. Ribic USGS Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Madison, WI

 

 

Despite the rush to build corn ethanol plants in the Midwest, there is growing concern in Wisconsin and surrounding states that we should be cautious in our approach to the development of biofuels.  Impacts on natural resources are important factors that bear on both what and where different types of biofuel production should be developed.  In Wisconsin, grassland conservation is important due to both the value of grasslands for a variety of native flora and fauna, and to the threats to these vulnerable habitats.  Areas with the best opportunities for managing grasslands in Wisconsin have the potential to be negatively impacted by large-scale biofuel production. This is due to multiple factors: an increase in the amount of corn, the potential for establishment of tree plantations, the accelerated loss of pasture habitats, and a decrease in acres enrolled in the USDA Conservation Reserve Program.  Grassland birds are an important conservation target due to their wide-scale population declines.  Our work in Wisconsin shows that landscape composition plays a role in patterns of grassland bird occupancy.  Specifically, we know that grassland bird densities decrease in landscapes dominated by row crop agriculture or high amounts of woods. Growing switchgrass or mixes of native prairie grasses and forbs for biofuels as an alternative to corn has potential for reducing impacts on natural resources in open agricultural landscapes. For example, using a mosaic approach to harvesting switchgrass results in varying heights of grass that in turn provide habitat structure for a wide diversity of grassland birds. However, more research is needed to understand the implications of biofuel production on grassland conservation at a landscape scale.