A large variety of virgin biomass feedstock developments for the production of energy, biofuels, and chemicals is in the research stage in Canada, the

United States, and many other countries. Research is progressing to develop and select special species and clones of trees and herbaceous crops and to develop advanced growth and management procedures for dedicated energy crops. This work is being done in the laboratory and in the field and is aimed at reducing the cost of biomass and increasing the efficiency of production. Research on short-rotation tree growth methods and the screening of woody and herbaceous biomass continues, generally on small-scale test plots. The North American effort has focused on hybrid poplar, willow, switchgrass, and a few other species. The emphasis in South America is on species such as Eucalyptus that grow well in semitropical and tropical climates. Larger scale field trials in which dedicated biomass production is integrated with conversion are beginning to evolve in the United States from the research done with small systems. But most of the continuing research in the United States on the selection of suitable biomass is limited to laboratory studies and small-scale test plots. Many of the research programs on feedstock development were started in the 1970s and early 1980s. Based on the research data accumulated in this work, some of the herbaceous and woody biomass species that appear to be good models for energy feedstock production are shown by region in Fig. 4. 9 for the continental United States and Hawaii (Wright, 1994).