page_title: Miscanthus giganteus
section_title: Biodiversity
hierarchical_section_title: Miscanthus giganteus / Environmental impacts / Biodiversity
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Regenwurm zur Hälfte wieder eingegraben, man sieht hier nur noch das Hinterende herausragen. Auf Erdboden in Durham (North Carolina). Adulter Lumbricus terrestris, wohl aufgenommen an einem milden Wintertag. Der Wurm ist daher sehr schlank und mit unauffälligem, schmalen Clitellum. English: earthworm on ground in Durham (North Carolina). It is a adult Lumbricus terrestris probably on a mild day in winter.
context_page_description: Miscanthus × giganteus, the giant miscanthus, is a sterile hybrid of Miscanthus sinensis and Miscanthus sacchariflorus. It is a perennial grass with bamboo-like stems that can grow to heights of more than 4 metres in one season. Just like Pennisetum purpureum, Arundo donax and Saccharum ravennae, it is also called elephant grass.
  Miscanthus × giganteus' perennial nature, its ability to grow on marginal land, its water efficiency, non-invasiveness, low fertilizer needs, significant carbon sequestration and high yield have sparked a lot of interest among researchers, with some arguing that it has "ideal" energy crop properties.
  Some argue that it can provide negative emissions, while others highlight its water cleaning and soil enhancing qualities. There are practical and economic challenges related to its use in the existing, fossil based combustion infrastructure, however. Torrefaction and other fuel upgrading techniques are being explored as countermeasures to this problem.
context_section_description: Below ground, Felten and Emmerling found that the number of earthworm species per square meter was 5.1 for miscanthus, 3 for maize, and 6.4 for fallow (totally unattended land), and state that "[…] it was clearly found that land-use intensity was the dominant regressor for earthworm abundance and total number of species." Because the extensive leaf litter on the ground helps the soil to stay moist, and also protect from predators, they conclude that "[…] Miscanthus had quite positive effects on earthworm communities […]" and recommend that "[…] Miscanthus may facilitate a diverse earthworm community even in intensive agricultural landscapes."
  Nsanganwimana et al. found that the bacterial activity of certain bacteria belonging to the proteobacteria group almost doubles in the presence of M. x giganteus root exudates.
  Above ground, Lewandowski et al. found that young miscanthus stands sustain high plant species diversity, but as the miscanthus stands mature, the canopy closes, and less sunlight reach the competing weeds. In this situation it gets harder for the weeds to survive. After canopy closure, Lewandowski et al. found 16 different weed species per 25 m² plot. The dense canopy works as protection for other life-forms though; Lewandowski et al. notes that "[…] Miscanthus stands are usually reported to support farm biodiversity, providing habitat for birds, insects, and small mammals […]." Supporting this view, Caslin et al. argue that the flora below the canopy provides food for butterflies, other insects and their predators, and 40 species of birds.
  Both Haughton et al. and Bellamy et al. found that the miscanthus overwinter vegetative structure provided an important cover and habitat resource, with high levels of diversity in comparison with annual crops. This effect was particularly evident for beetles, flies, and birds, with breeding skylarks and lapwings being recorded in the crop itself. The miscanthus crop offers a different ecological niche for each season—the authors attribute this to the continually evolving structural heterogeneity of a miscanthus crop, with different species finding shelter at different times during its development—woodland birds found shelter in the winter and farmland birds in the summer. For birds, 0.92 breeding pairs species per hectare (0.37 per acre) was found in the miscanthus field, compared to 0.28 (0.11) in the wheat field. The authors note that due to the high carbon to nitrogen ratio, it is in the field's margins and interspersed woodlands that the majority of the food resources are to be found. Miscanthus fields work as barriers against chemical leaching into these key habitats however.
  Caslin et al. further argue that miscanthus crops provides better biodiversity than cereal crops, with three times as many spiders and earthworms as cereal. Brown hare, stoat, mice, vole, shrew, fox and rabbit are some of the species that are observed in miscanthus crops. The crop act as both a nesting habitat and a wildlife corridor connecting different habitats.
caption: Felten and Emmerling argue that Miscanthus fields may facilitate a diverse earthworm community even in intensive agricultural landscapes.
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