IETU scientists will continue to work on the use of Miscanthus in the international research team of the MISCOMAR+ project. The leader is Aberystwyth University, and the main partners are: University of Hohenheim and Terravesta.

The MISCOMAR project, implemented in 2016-2019, showed that Miscanthus cultivated on marginal and contaminated soils in Poland, Germany and the United Kingdom was able to yield more than 15 tons of biomass per hectare (Rusinowski et al., 2019, Wagner et al., 2018).

Its continuation is the project MISCOMAR+ (Miscanthus for marginal and contaminated lands PLUS), which received funding from the FACCE SURPLUS programme. It is implemented by a consortium consisting of European leaders in the research on Miscanthus breeding and cultivation, and its impact on soil quality. The project leader is Aberystwyth University (Great Britain). Other scientific units involved in the project are: University of Nottingham, Imperial College of London from Great Britain, Research and Innovation Centre Pro-Academia from Poland, University of Hohenheim, Germany and - IETU.

MISCOMAR+ is a continuation and extension of our previous research on the cultivation of Miscanthus on marginal soils in Europe carried out under the MISCOMAR project, whose leader was IETU - says Dr. Marta Pogrzeba, Prof. of IETU - Now we are handing over the baton to our partners from the University of Aberystwyth in Great Britain, which is the leader of this new undertaking. The research coordinator is Dr. Elaine Jensen, who studies biotic and abiotic factors affecting Miscanthus yield. We will also cooperate with commercial companies engaged in cultivation of Miscanthus - Terravesta Assured Energy Crops Ltd. from Great Britain and Gießereitechnik Kühn from Germany.

Jason Kam, Research and Development Manager in the British company Terravesta Ltd. in an interview published on the company's website emphasises that the research cooperation carried out under the MISCOMAR+ project will provide them with an access to the results of the chemical analysis of soil and plants, as well as data on the growth and yield of Miscanthus on contaminated soils. Now, when we already have new seed genotypes, as well as the results of the research from cultivations carried out under the previous projects, it will be a good opportunity to get more data which will help us better prepare our products and services for commercial applications.

Terravesta specialises in providing solutions for biomass-based bioeconomy, in particular the full cycle of Miscanthus use, from setting up a plantation through receiving biomass from farmers to its final use as biofuel in the UK.

Read the full interview with Jason Kam, R&D Manager at Terravesta Ltd.

The advantage of MISCOMAR+ is the continuation of the already existing cultivation of Miscanthus on contaminated soils in Bytom, clean but impoverished soils in Great Britain, and floodplains in Germany - says Prof. Marta Pogrzeba - Another research which is going to be continued will focus on the use of the generated biomass in the energy production process by gasification with recovery of valuable elements from process residues as well as in paper production.

Fertile soil prevents erosion, retains water, reduces flood risk and stores huge amounts of carbon, therefore t is so important to use marginal soils and wasteland. Research carried out under the MISCOMAR+ project will provide knowledge which can help improve methods for establishing Miscanthus plantations in order to increase plant resistance to the effects of climate change and difficult soil conditions. Methods of using Miscanthus biomass from marginal and contaminated soils will also be tested.

Marginal soils can become a place for production of industrial plants, widely used in bioeconomy. The main benefit from perennial crops such as Miscanthus is improvement of soil health, which can be achieved through long-term soil stabilisation.