Biomass Yield and Economic, Energy and Carbon Balances of Ulmus pumila L., Robinia pseudoacacia L. and Populus × euroamericana (Dode) Guinier Short-Rotation Coppices on Degraded Lands under Mediterranean Climate

Alesso, Silvia Patricia; Tapias, R.; Alaejos, J.; Fernández, Manuel

doi:10.3390/f12101337

Cited by 6 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…In addition, SRC plantation can enhance soil carbon content. In a study carried out in Spain, the capacity to sequester C in the uppermost layer of the soil (0-30 cm) of black locust, Siberian elm and Euroamerican poplar was 0.36-0.83 Mg ha −1 y −1 of C [91]. Alternative species for warmer and dryer climatic conditions are black locust and eucalyptus.…”

Section: Siberian Elmmentioning

confidence: 99%

Yield Performance of Woody Crops on Marginal Agricultural Land in Latvia, Spain and Ukraine

et al. 2022

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Agricultural land abandonment due to biophysical and socioeconomic constraints is increasing across Europe. Meanwhile there is also an increase in bioenergy demand. This study assessed woody crop performance on several relevant types of marginal agricultural land in Europe, based on field experiments in Latvia, Spain and Ukraine. In Latvia, hybrid aspen was more productive than birch and alder species, and after eight years produced 4.8 Mg ha−1 y−1 on stony soil with sandy loam texture, when best clone and treatment combination was selected. In Spain, Siberian elm produced up to 7.1 Mg ha−1 y−1 on stony, sandy soil with low organic carbon content after three triennial rotations. In Ukraine, willow plantations produced a maximum of 10.8 Mg ha−1 y−1 on a soil with low soil organic carbon after second triennial rotation. The productivity was higher when management practices were optimized specifically to address the limiting factors of a site. Longer rotations and lower biomass yields compared to high-value land can be expected when woody crops are grown on similar marginal agricultural land shown in this study. Future studies should start here and investigate to what extent woody crops can contribute to rural development under these conditions.

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Section: Siberian Elmmentioning

confidence: 99%

Yield Performance of Woody Crops on Marginal Agricultural Land in Latvia, Spain and Ukraine

et al. 2022

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“…Ensuring that the growth in demand for lignocellulosic biomass can be met without adversely affecting agroforestry systems requires a regular, manageable and renewable supply of fast-growing tree species [11][12][13]. This supply is not only compatible with the cultivation of food crops but also contributes to the preservation of the environment and biodiversity [14,15] and rural development [16,17], as well as providing an alternative use for abandoned degraded land. Only in the European Union, 147 million hectares Forests 2023, 14, 1156 2 of 20 are degraded for one reason or another (soil erosion, low organic matter content, excess inorganic nitrogen fertilization).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[16,[20][21][22][23][24][25]. However, most of them consider taxa (provenances/clones) of a single species, and very few compare taxa of different species growing at the same site [17,26,27]. Traditionally, plantations of these fast-growing species have been principally intended for wood production or paper pulp and, under optimal conditions, can produce up to 25 t ha −1 year −1 dry matter (poplars, willows) and 40 t ha −1 year −1 (Eucalyptus and Paulownia) [16,17,21,26,28].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomass Production and Quality of Twelve Fast-Growing Tree Taxa in Short Rotation under Mediterranean Climate

Alaejos

Tapias

López

et al. 2023

Forests

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Sustainable production of lignocellulosic biomass for energy use can contribute to climate change mitigation. This work aims to compare the biomass production of twelve fast-growing woody taxa belonging to the Eucalyptus, Casuarina, Populus and Paulownia genera, the quality of their biomass for energy use and its valorizing through transformation into pellets, as well as the effect of the crop on the soil. Over the course of two rotations, plant growth and biomass production were assessed. The yield of aboveground dry biomass ranged from 9 to 61 Mg ha−1 year−1 (equivalent to 137–867 GJ ha−1 year−1). The highest yields were obtained for Eucalyptus clones (51–61 Mg ha−1 year−1). The N-fixing species Casuarina equisetifolia and two Populus × euramericana clones (‘Adige’ and ‘AF2’) also achieved high yields (28–33 Mg ha−1 year−1), though significantly smaller than those of the eucalypts. Due to its low wood density, Paulownia fortunei was not very productive in terms of biomass (18 Mg ha−1 year−1), despite its good growth in diameter and height. However, some management practices, such as not removing nutrient-rich and poor-quality biomass fractions for energy use (leaves and thin branches) from the harvested crop, as well as the use of N-fixing species and by taking into account all nutrient inputs and outputs, can ensure the sustainability of the cultivation systems and improve degraded soils.

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“…Fast growing woody plantations are of particular interest in this context, being able to supply the woody biomass that traditional agroforestry systems cannot provide [5,12]. Fast growing plantations consist of woody cultivation, characterised by a high planting density of fast-growing species, such as poplar (Populus spp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Working Performance and Costs of Two Small-Scale Harvesting Systems for Medium Rotation Poplar Plantations

Latterini

Stefanoni

Alfano

et al. 2022

Forests

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Considering the increasing need to produce energy from renewable sources, the interest towards Medium Rotation Coppices (MRC) plantations has increased. One of the main issues that require tackling for the comprehensive sustainability of these plantations is related to the development of sustainable harvesting systems. Indeed, as a consequence of the average tree diameters at a breast height (dbh) of about 15 cm, single-pass harvesting typical of short rotation coppice is not applicable. Therefore, these plantations are generally harvested with machinery specifically developed for forest operations, as for instance harvesters, feller-bunchers and forwarders. In the Mediterranean area, the availability of such machines is still limited to a few big forest enterprises. Indeed, the majority of forest contractors carry out their activities in the framework of small-scale forestry, without the financial possibility of purchasing expensive machineries. Thus, the present study had the objective to evaluate the performance of two small-scale harvesting systems in a 7-year-old poplar plantation in Central Italy. The difference between the two systems was the different machinery applied for wood extraction, i.e., a forestry-fitted farm tractor equipped with winch (WINCH) and a fork lift prototype, attached to a crawler tractor (CFL). Extraction via CFL system reached very high working performance with about 21.5 m3 SMH−1 (Scheduled Machine Hours, including delays), comparable to the productivities reported in the literature for forwarders working in similar plantations. Harvesting costs with CFL were 24.74 EUR m−3, of which 4.48 EUR m−3 was for felling with chainsaw, 4.61 EUR m−3 for extraction with CFL prototype and 15.64 EUR m−3 for wood chipping. WINCH showed unsatisfactory results instead, possessing a wood chip production cost of 41.95 EUR m−3, which is practically equivalent to the market price of wood chips.

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Biomass Yield and Economic, Energy and Carbon Balances of Ulmus pumila L., Robinia pseudoacacia L. and Populus × euroamericana (Dode) Guinier Short-Rotation Coppices on Degraded Lands under Mediterranean Climate

Cited by 6 publications

References 81 publications

Yield Performance of Woody Crops on Marginal Agricultural Land in Latvia, Spain and Ukraine

Yield Performance of Woody Crops on Marginal Agricultural Land in Latvia, Spain and Ukraine

Biomass Production and Quality of Twelve Fast-Growing Tree Taxa in Short Rotation under Mediterranean Climate

Assessment of Working Performance and Costs of Two Small-Scale Harvesting Systems for Medium Rotation Poplar Plantations

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