North-east England, five brownfield sites (BioReGen)

PhytoremediationField scale

Phalaris arundinacea, Miscanthus spp., Salix spp., Panicum virgatum

R. Lord amended each site with about 500 t/ha of green-waste compost, planted short-rotation willow, miscanthus, reed canarygrass and switchgrass, and harvested for 3–5 years, measuring yields and contaminants in the biomass.

Outcome Reed canarygrass outdid the other species in ease of establishment, cost, time, yield and contamination of the biomass: 4–7 oven-dry t/ha a year from the second season, at contaminant levels acceptable for domestic pellets. This is biomass production on contaminated land, not contaminant removal.

• Lord, Reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea) outperforms Miscanthus or willow on marginal soils, brownfield and non-agricultural sites for local, sustainable energy crop production, Biomass and Bioenergy, 2015