Switchgrass: A Valuable Biomass Crop for Energy

When Mr. Anthony Doyle suggested I put together a book on energy crops, I immediately thought of switchgrass, followed by two questions: is our current knowledge on switchgrass-for-energy substantial enough, and mature enough, to merit such a publication? Is it appropriate that this initiative be undertaken by a European with much less experience than his North American colleagues? The first answer was certainly positive, while the second can only be answered by the authors of the book and its future readers. The reasons that led me to accept the challenge can be summed up in two closely connected objectives. In the first place, the desire to help bring the ‘‘scholar’’ closer to the ‘‘teacher’’, in other words to combine the recent but significant knowledge acquired in Europe with the more substantial and consolidated North American knowledge. The other, more ambitious objective is to use the ‘‘energy’’ of switchgrass to create ‘‘synergy’’ in multidisciplinary communications among scientists and stakeholders, as well as in parallel R&D programs in Europe, North America, and elsewhere. Undoubtedly, there are still many questions regarding science and technology associated with the production and utilization of switchgrass, and the ambition of this book is to offer a state-of-the-art overview on the knowledge and prospects of switchgrass as a raw material for energy use, as well as suggestions for future research programs. Nearly all the areas of lively current research which have received ample attention, such as crop management, physiology, genetics and genomics, logistic, economic and environmental assessment, and transformation processes, are touched upon here.