Planting the perennial biomass cropMiscanthusin theUKcould offset 2–13 Mt oil eq. yr⁻¹, contributing up to 10% of current energy use. Policymakers need assurance that upscalingMiscanthusproduction can be performed sustainably without negatively impacting essential food production or the wider environment. This study reviews a large body ofMiscanthusrelevant literature into concise summary statements. PerennialMiscanthushas energy output/input ratios 10 times higher (47.3 ± 2.2) than annual crops used for energy (4.7 ± 0.2 to 5.5 ± 0.2), and the total carbon cost of energy production (1.12 g CO₂‐C eq. MJ⁻¹) is 20–30 times lower than fossil fuels. Planting on former arable land generally increases soil organic carbon (SOC) withMiscanthussequestering 0.7–2.2 Mg C4‐C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. Cultivation on grassland can cause a disturbance loss ofSOCwhich is likely to be recovered during the lifetime of the crop and is potentially mitigated by fossil fuel offset. N₂O emissions can be five times lower under unfertilizedMiscanthusthan annual crops and up to 100 times lower than intensive pasture. Nitrogen fertilizer is generally unnecessary except in low fertility soils. Herbicide is essential during the establishment years after which natural weed suppression by shading is sufficient. Pesticides are unnecessary. Water‐use efficiency is high (e.g. 5.5–9.2 g aerialDM(kg H₂O)⁻¹, but high biomass productivity means increased water demand compared to cereal crops. The perennial nature and belowground biomass improves soil structure, increases water‐holding capacity (up by 100–150 mm), and reduces run‐off and erosion. Overwinter ripening increases landscape structural resources for wildlife. Reduced management intensity promotes earthworm diversity and abundance although poor litter palatability may reduce individual biomass. Chemical leaching into field boundaries is lower than comparable agriculture, improving soil and water habitat quality.

A key gene involved in plant senescence, mutations of which partially disable chlorophyll catabolism and confer stay-green leaf and cotyledon phenotypes, has been identified in Pisum sativum , Arabidopsis thaliana , and Festuca pratensis by using classical and molecular genetics and comparative genomics. A stay-green locus in F. pratensis is syntenically equivalent to a similar stay-green locus on rice chromosome 9. Functional testing in Arabidopsis of a homolog of the rice candidate gene revealed (i) senescence-associated gene expression and (ii) a stay-green phenotype after RNA interference silencing. Genetic mapping in pea demonstrated cosegregation with the yellow/green cotyledon polymorphism ( I/i ) first reported by Gregor Mendel in 1866.