论文部分内容阅读
Today, climate change and fossil fuels stocks represent major preoccupations for the planet.As levels of greenhouses gas increase and fossil fuels decrease, it is necessary to develop renewable sources of energy.The use of biomass from plants is one way to produce renewable energy.Miscanthus, a C4 perennial rhizomatous grass belonging to the Poaceae family, appears to be a good candidate for bioenergy use.The Miscanthus genus contains more than twenty species originating from different geographical areas.In this genus, the M.x giganteus species is known to produce high amounts of biomass under low input levels, thereby reducing negative environmental impacts.However, in order to adapt Miscanthus to bioenergy use, high biomass production has to be combined with a composition suited to bioenergy industrial conversion processes.Despite its high level of biomass production, M.x giganteus is sensitive to heavy frosts and lack of water and has a narrow genetic diversity.Therefore, it is essential to investigate other Miscanthus species in order to identify species or clones potentially better adapted to bioenergy industrial conversion processes.This objective has been achieved through the investigation of the phenotypic variation existing among and within three Miscanthus species for biomass production and composition: M.x giganteus, M.sinensis, and M.sacchariflorus.This investigation provides relevant information which can be used (i) to identify existing Miscanthus species or clones combined with environmental conditions which could be adapted for bioenergy use and (ii) to identify traits of interest which can be used in breeding programmes to create new Miscanthus varieties specifically for bioenergy use.