Crops grown to provide biofuels will change the face of the British countryside radically by 2020, the British Association Festival of Science in York was told yesterday.

The introduction of fast-growing miscanthus grass, an Asian species, will provide a taste of the tropics as it takes root on British farms. It grows up to 13ft (4m) tall and has been identified as one of the best species to provide biofuel crops over the next 30 years.

It is predicted that by 2020 up to 20 per cent of agricultural land will be used to grow miscanthus and varieties of willow that grow up to 16ft (5m) tall.

Together, the conference was told, they will account for a third of renewable energy sources in Britain by 2020.

They will help Britain to meet the target set by the European Union of providing 20 per cent of energy from renewable sources to ensure that reliance on fossil fuels is reduced.

Biofuel crops are seen as one of the alternative sources of energy with which Europe can cut its carbon dioxide emissions, which are held responsible for driving global warming.

The height of the miscanthus and willow crops will change the look of the landscape, hiding many features and dwarfing people and traffic. In parts of the country, especially flat regions, they will hide much of the horizon.

Angela Karp, of Rothamsted Research, a research organisation, said that the harvesting regime would create further changes to the landscape.

Miscanthus grass, which she said had been found to allow insect life to thrive, would be grown over a year and be harvested in the early spring. From May each year the grass would grow rapidly to provide a lush green crop while during the winter it would turn yellow to provide a blaze of colour to the season.

Willow would be grown in three-year cycles, ensuring that farmland remained green throughout the year and also provided a haven for invertebrates.

Dr Karp said that the biofuel crops were needed urgently as part of a package of measures to boost renewable sources. Both crops had the advantage, she said, of being able to thrive on poorer land where other commercial plants struggled. Rather than displace food crops at a time when the world population was rising and demand was increasing, the biofuel plants could be grown on marginal land.

Philip Lowe, of the United Kingdom Research Council, called on the Government to introduce a coherent strategy for managing the countryside. He is part of a £24 million project to identify which crops should be grown.

Times Recommends

• Forces chief faces new battle - the economy
• Seven days that shook the world
• Icelanders wake up and smell ... the fish