Minnesota Water Science Center
Cedar Creek Biofuels ProjectMinnesota PROJECTSABOUT THE MINNESOTA
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Cedar Creek Biofuels Project Corn samples being collected at the Cedar Creek research site. Established in 2007 at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve (CCESR), this biofuels water quality experiment investigates water protection, biofuel production, and habitat conservation—three major interrelated issues presently facing Minnesota. It will demonstrate the feasibility of using diverse prairies simultaneously as belowground water filters and as aboveground renewable energy resources. This strategy will stem the loss of conservation lands and ultimately promises to (1) provide profitable buffers to reduce contamination of our groundwaters, (2) appreciably increase the area of wildlife habitat and the length of habitat corridors, including connective waterways, (3) enhance the overall biodiversity of Minnesota, and (4) reduce Minnesota's share of global greenhouse gas emissions. This idea can be extended to broad areas of the state, providing important ecological and economic benefits to the region and setting examples for neighboring states to follow.  Once established, perennial prairie can be harvested each year with little or no fertilization or irrigation. This 3-year cooperative USGS and University of Minnesota study will provide quantitative data for annually cropped prairie, hay, and corn on each systems’ ability (1) to capture leaching pollutants including nitrate and veterinary pharmaceuticals before they enter groundwater; (2) to produce biofuel; and (3) to sequester carbon belowground. This project is funded by the State of Minnesota through the Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR), with matching funds from the United States Geological Survey’s Cooperative Water Program. Learn more about the Cedar Creek Biofuels Project:
Cedar Creek Biofuels Research in the News
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U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://mn.water.usgs.gov/projects/cedarcreek/index.html
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Page Last Modified: Tuesday, 28-Sep-2010 09:42:24 EDT
