This paper is based upon a structured selection of global energy modelling studies addressing the future, potential role of transport biofuels. The paper is finding that the reviewed papers depict highly varying levels of future biofuel use. This can be attributed to model differences and to different assumptions with regards to the amount of available biomass, the climate targets, the deployment of new technologies and the time perspectives applied.

Schematic summary of the implications of sugarcane straw removal on soil quality, feedstock production and bioenergy production indicators. Negative (-), positive (+) and (+/-) sings indicate a tendency of reduction, improvement or uncertain effects found in the literature, respectively.

Biochar is rich in pyrogenic carbon with large surface area and variable charge that contribute to nutrient cycling. The change in biochar properties with time in the soil, that is ageing, may be dynamic and can affect nutrient cycling. Here, we examined the effects of a biochar (20 t ha⁻¹), that has aged in two soil types, that is a Tenosol and a Dermosol, on gross nitrogen (N) mineralization (GNM) and ¹⁵N recovery using a ¹⁵N tracer. The field experiment also included a phosphorus (P) addition treatment (1 kg ha⁻¹). Effects of biochar on GNM and ¹⁵N recovery were soil specific. Biochar application significantly reduced GNM in the clayey Dermosol, possibly due to formation of organo-mineral complexes, while it significantly increased ¹⁵N recovery in the sandy Tenosol. Retention of at biochar-derived cation exchange sites may have reduced leaching and gaseous loss of ¹⁵N, resulting in increased ¹⁵N recovery.

Miscanthus lutarioriparius, an endemic species in central China, is considered to be a promising candidate of second-generation energy crops. Seeds of the five populations of M. lutarioriparius were collected in natural habitats and planted in the experimental field (natural saline soil) in Dongying, Shandong province of China. After one year long-term salt stress, the growth status of Suaeda salsa that originally derived from the experimental field and one of the five populations of M. lutarioriparius are as the picture showed. Compared with S. salsa, the better growth status of M. lutarioriparius indicated that it has the capability of producing high biomass on the saline marginal land.

The carbohydrate metabolic profile was used as a biomarker to predict yields in Miscanthus. The modelled vs. actual yields had a correlation of R = 0.67, demonstrating that yield could be predicted to a high degree of accuracy. Yield was linked to the partitioning of carbohydrates between cellulose and starch.