A team of scientists has launched a study to look at ways of cutting the carbon emissions released by crops grown for biofuel.
The £1.1 million project, funded by the National Environment Research Council (NERC), will consider ways of trapping carbon in the soil to limit its negative impact on the environment.
Southampton University professor Gail Taylor, an expert on plants and the environment, will be leading the initiative.
The main aim is to test the theory that unlike existing food crops, bioenergy crops are better at providing long-term retention of soil carbon because they take longer to grow before they are harvested, releasing their trapped CO2.
Prof Taylor said: "Scientists now believe that CO2 is an important greenhouse gas and a major cause of climate change, so it’s vital we develop ways of removing it from the atmosphere."
It is hoped that in the future bioenergy crops will be turned into liquid fuels such as bioethanol and used as a premier energy source.
Researchers at the Energy Technology Institute (ETI) recently suggested that around one-tenth of Britain’s green land, including moor land and hillsides, could potentially be used to harvest crops for biofuel.