A recent study from the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center looks at how efficiently “second generation” biofuel crops – perennial, non-food crops such as switchgrass or native grasses – use rainwater and how these crops affect overall water balance. The study, led by Michigan State University professor of ecosystem ecology and GLBRC scientist Stephen Hamilton, is the first multi-year effort to compare the water use of conventional corn crops to the perennial cropping systems of switchgrass, miscanthus, native grasses, restored prairies and hybrid poplar trees. Read more at Michigan State's website.