Purpose. To develop major agrotechnical measures for growing the maximum number of one-year lignified poplar cuttings for the establishment of energy plantations in the conditions of the Right Bank Forest Steppe of Ukraine. Methods. Field, laboratory, statistical. Results. Nursery plantings of three poplar varieties were studied: one-year plantation of variety 'Dorskamp' and three-year plantations of varieties 'Robusta' and 'I-45/51'. At this age in the spring of 2019, the plants were cut at a height of 0.00, 0.25, 0.50 and 1.00 m from the ground surface. Plants of 'Dorskamp' variety that were cut at 0.00 m grew to a height of 2.27±0.124 m for 1 year, at 0.25 m to 2.85±0.135 m and at 0.50 m to 2.81±0.143 m. In the subsequent years, after cutting, the height of plants of 'Dorskamp' variety increased as follows: in 2020 to 3.01±0.231 m, 3.22±0.170 m and 3.30±0.170 m; in 2021, to 3.53±0.230 m, 4.11±0.129 m and 3.85±0.188 m, respectively. 'Robusta' variety in the first year after cutting had the highest average height indicators that decreased with each subsequent year (except for the height of 100 cm). One-year shoots of 'I-45/51' variety were the highest in 2020. In 2021, they had the maximum height indicators of the three varieties, 4.50±0.165 m. The yield of cuttings from 1 ha of the nursery plantation of 'Dorskamp' variety in 2019 varied from 166.6 thousand shoots/ha for cutting at a height of 0.25 m to 184.9 thousand shoots/ha at a height of 0.00 m. In the following 2 years, the yield of cuttings increased both with the increase in the age of the plantation and the cutting height. In the third year (2021), 'Dorskamp' had the maximum indicators, 397.2 thousand shoots/ha at a cutting height of 0.25 m. In 'Robusta' variety, already in the next year after the first cutting, the yield of cuttings ranged from 942.5 to 2621.3 thousand shoots/ha. At the same time, the yield increased significantly with an increase in cutting height and in most cases decreased in subsequent years. In 'I-45/51' variety, the yield of standard shoots in the first year after cutting increased with an increase in cutting height from 105.8−101.3 thousand shoots/ha to 200.6 thousand shoots/ha (at a height of 1.0 m). In 2020, it was from 128.2 thousand shoots/ha to 226.0 thousand shoots/ha, respectively, for cutting at 0.00 m and 1.00 m. In 2021, the yield of shoots in the variants 0.00 m and 0.50 m slightly decreased, and for cutting at heights of 0.25 and 1.00 m increased to 134.3 and 265.5 thousand shoots/ha, respectively. Conclusions. The productivity of poplar nursery plantations in the conditions of the research region is largely affected by the varietal characteristics, the age of the plants, and the weather conditions of a certain year. Among the varieties used in the study, the maximum yield of standard planting material (shoots) is noted in nursery plantations of 'Robusta', amounting to 2.6 million shoots/ha. 'I-45/51' variety had much lower productivity, up to 0.26 million shoots/ha. The plantation of 'Dorskamp' variety, 2 years younger than 'Robusta' and 'I‑45/51', had a yield of shoots per hectare up to 0.40 million. The highest yield of planting material in most cases was ensured by the cutting at 0.50–1.00 m.

Purpose. To determine the features of the growth of an energy plantation of poplar variety ‘Robusta’ on leached chernozems in the conditions of the Central Forest Steppe of Ukraine. Methods. Field, laboratory, statistical. Results. One-year lignified cuttings 25 cm long and 0.8–1.0 cm in diameter were used as planting material. The designed layout of planting places: 2.0x0.8 m (more density version) and 2.0x0.9 m (more sparse version). After the first year of cultivation, the studied plots had the same height (1.6 m). During the second growing season, their growth in height was 2.0±0.05 m in the more sparse version, and 2.1±0.05 m in the thicker version. After the first year, the diameter at a height of 1.3 m was greater in the thicker version (0.5 cm versus 0.3 cm), but already in the next year, the trees of the more sparse stand became 2 mm thicker, and this difference persisted in the third year, when the average diameter of the trees of the denser version was 5.8 cm, and of the sparser — 6.2 cm. As a result of the higher diameter of trees of the more sparse version, they had a higher weight of the average tree, but due to the smaller number of trees, their productivity was lower. So, after three years of growing a poplar plantation created by cuttings, one hectare can yield 11.66–14.58 tons of dry biomass, or 207.5–259.5 GJ of energy. A sharp increase in morphometric indicators during the third year of cultivation indicates the feasibility of using a longer period of cultivation of such plantations to obtain the maximum amount of biomass. Conclusions. The study of a three-year energy plantation of the ‘Robusta’ variety, created by one-year lignified cuttings on the leached soils of the Right Bank Forest Steppe, with the placement of planting sites 2.0 x 0.8 m and 2.0 x 0.8 m, showed that after three years of growing a poplar plantation, one hectare can get 11.66–14.58 tons of dry biomass, or 207.5–259.5 GJ of energy. A significant increase in growth indicators and biomass productivity of poplar plantations during the third year of cultivation indicates the feasibility of using a 4–6-year period of cultivation of such plantations to obtain the maximum amount of biomass.

The study of geographical crops is relevant because they are one of the reliable tools for identifying possible scenarios for the response of forest woody plant species to climate change. The purpose of the study of geographical crops of Scots pine established in 1981 in the Kyiv Oblast was to compare the growth and productivity of provenances in different age periods, determine the optimal time for early and final diagnosis of their ranking, and model the relationship between the growth and survivability indicators of provenances with climatic and other environmental variables at the age of 21, 32, and 37 years. The ANOVA method established a statistically significant influence of the geographical origin of seeds on the growth of geographical crops. At the age of 37, the capacity for survival varies from 25% (Lviv provenance) to 36.2% (Chernihiv provenance). At this age, populations from Lviv, Kyiv, and Cherkasy oblasts are characterised by the highest height. According to the intensity of radial growth, these same provenances are distinguished, as well as variants from Volyn and Luhansk. In terms of the stock of stem wood, the best is provenance from the Chernihiv Oblast. Stabilisation of the ranks of provenances in terms of survivability, growth, and productivity is observed only after 21 years. It is assumed that the most accurate assessment of the growth and condition of Scots pine provenances can be obtained at an age that corresponds to a third or a half of the age of the main felling. The trend of clinal variability in the survival of provenances and the average diameter of their trunks along the geographical (latitudinal) and ecological (temperature) gradients is revealed. The study results can be used to update the current forest-seed zoning of Ukraine