Miscanthus Twice as Productive as Switchgrass

b4thyme writes: "The results are in. Frank Dohleman of the plant biology department at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his colleagues have studied the difference in productivity between the two most cited potential energy crops: switchgrass and miscanthus. The results are staggering. Miscanthus was found to be more than twice as productive as switchgrass according to the criteria cited for the following reasons:

1. Miscanthus can gain greater amounts of photosynthetic carbon per unit of leaf area
2. Miscanthus has a greater leaf area
3. Miscanthus has a longer growing season

I was interested in learning about the growing condition/climate requirements for these two plants. It was delightful to find out that both switchgrass and miscanthus are very productive in a wide range of climates which means that farmers in temperate climates will not be at a strategic disadvantage as they are with sugar (from sugarcane) to ethanol production."