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Science 15 June 2007:
Vol. 316. no. 5831, p. 1567
DOI: 10.1126/science.1140365
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Technical Comments

Response to Comment on "Carbon-Negative Biofuels from Low-Input High-Diversity Grassland Biomass"

David Tilman,1* Jason Hill,1,2 Clarence Lehman1

We discovered that biofuels from low-input high-diversity mixtures of native perennial prairie plants grown on degraded soil can provide similar bioenergy gains and greater greenhouse gas benefits than current corn ethanol produced from crops grown in monoculture on fertile soil with high inputs. Russelle et al.'s technical concerns are refuted by a substantial body of research on prairie ecosystems and managed perennial grasslands.

1 Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.
2 Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: tilman{at}umn.edu

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)