Miscanthus × giganteus increases soil maximum water holding capacity compared to maize
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2025-07-26
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Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Crop Science Society of America and American Society of Agronomy
Abstract
Soil ecosystem services, like the ability to store water, have been depleted after a century of conventional, annual cropping, and perennial crops offer a solution to this and other agricultural environmental issues. We assessed the impact of Miscanthus × giganteus (miscanthus), a perennial biomass crop, on soil water holding capacity and structure compared to continuous maize (Zea mays L.) at two sites in Iowa. After three growing seasons, we measured the following: (1) maximum water holding capacity (MWHC) with and without soil structure, and (2) total porosity and pore size distribution (PSD) via micro-computed tomography (microCT). Miscanthus increased MWHC by 14.7% across both sites relative to maize (p = 0.002), and we attributed this to structural changes due to the lack of a crop effect when measured on structureless soils. No significant changes were detected in soil organic matter, texture, total porosity, or PSD that could explain the increase in MWHC under miscanthus. Our findings suggest that the increases in MWHC are primarily due to structural changes rather than increases in soil organic matter or porosity (at least porosity detectable by microCT). This study highlights miscanthus' potential to enhance soil water storage and underscores the need for further investigation to clarify the mechanisms through which this biomass crop influences soil structural properties.
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This article is published as Nelson, Jessica T., Maoz Dor, Andy D. VanLoocke, Jacob E. Studt, Perla K. Schrock, and Marshall D. McDaniel. "Miscanthus× giganteus increases soil maximum water holding capacity compared to maize." Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment 8, no. 3 (2025): e70181. https://doi.org/10.1002/agg2.70181
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© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Funding
DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation(U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research), Grant/Award Number: DE-SC0018420; USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Grant/Award Number: 7000755; Vaadia-BARD Postdoctoral Fellowship, Grant/Award Number: FI-598-2020