Biofuels and Biodiversity: An assessment of potential effects on species and ecosystems
Session Organizers: Chris Webster, Curt Meine, and David James Flaspohler

Description: The meeting theme emphasizes the interrelatedness of ecological systems.  Our symposium, theme, expansion of biofuels worldwide, focuses on these interrelationships (ecological, economic, and social) and addresses a rapidly emerging issue facing conservation biology.  The growth in foreign and domestic demand for automotive fuels and recent high crude oil prices has brought increased attention to alternative sources of fuel such as plant-based ethanol.  Currently, ethanol for auto fuels is produced primarily from corn (Zea mays) and sugar cane (Saccharum spp.) using an intensive agricultural production system.  This approach produces a feedstock with a relatively small net energy yield, marginal reductions in greenhouse gasses, low value for native biodiversity, and competition with food uses and cultivation of alternative crops.  Lignocellulosic sources such as aspen (Populus spp.) and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) have been proposed as alternative sources of raw material for biofuel.  Land use changes associated with this expansion of biofuel production in the U.S. and worldwide will have profound implications for species conservation.  Speakers in this symposium will review the known and potential domestic and global effects of this expansion of biofuels on diverse ecosystems.