Comparison of Biofuel Systems Site (COBS)

This COBS Field Site seeks to provide comprehensive comparisons of contrasting biomass feedstock production systems with respect to biomass production potential, fossil fuel replacement value, impacts on soil and water quality, greenhouse gas emissions, belowground C sequestration, biodiversity and ecosystem conservation. This is a large project that involves collaboration of a multidisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, and economists at Iowa State University and Southern Illinois University. The project affords a unique opportunity to test questions about biomass feedstock production that are critical to crop producers, crop processors, and policy makers.

The COBS Field Site is located on the South Reynoldson Farm near Madrid, IA. The study site includes 6 cropping system treatments: continuous corn (Zea mays), corn/soybean, corn with rye winter cover crop, native tallgrass prairie, and fertilized native tallgrass prairie. All treatments are managed without tillage. Four replicate blocks contain 6 plots, 1 of each planting treatment in a randomized complete block design. Each plot is 27 m x 61 m. The experiment was initiated in 2008. Data from this research will be integrated with additional projects being conducted at the COBS site including aboveground plant community data, belowground root data, soil gas and water diffusion data, and hydrologic data.

COBS Website:
http://www.agron.iastate.edu/cobs/index.html