Grasslands could power homes, reduce fossil fuel use
In England, researchers looked at using grassland plants from conservation areas for making eco-friendly bioenergy. They compared these grasses with other crops for making biogas and bioethanol. Results showed that grass from conservation areas had less lignin, making it great for producing biogas. In fact, it could yield even more biogas than cereals or crop waste, and nearly as much as Miscanthus, which is a common bioenergy crop. The study found that grasslands could produce up to 117% more biogas per field when compared to Miscanthus fields. This suggests that including diverse grasslands in energy plans could help reduce the use of fossil fuels in the future.