tEnsuring increased and sustainable biomass production is critical for European countries. Short-rotationcoppice (SRC) plantations on agricultural lands have a great potential to increase biomass supply for bio-fuels, bioenergy, and bioproducts. In Italy, SRC is based on the use of fast growing species, high plantingdensity, and short harvesting cycles. In this study, the performance of new genotypes to be used in SRCplantations for biomass production was evaluated after three biennial rotations. At the trial plantationin Mira (Northern Italy), six different poplar (Populus) genotypes, belonging to different interspecifichybrids were studied. This plantation provided the opportunity to study the relationships between sur-vival, biomass production and other growth parameters over multiple rotations and for a wide genotypicrange. Biomass production differed significantly among rotations starting from 16 Mg ha-1year-1in thefirst, peaking at 20 Mg ha-1year-1in the second, and decreasing to 17 Mg ha-1year-1in the third rota-tion. At the end of each rotation, significant differences among genotypes were observed in number ofshoots per stool and per ha, stem diameter, tree height, and biomass production. Mean survival ratesbecame significantly different from the other rotations only in the third rotation during which survivalrate ranged from 95% for (P. × generosa) × P. nigra 'Monviso' to 75% for (P. × generosa) × P. nigra 'AF6',but non-significant difference was observed among genotypes. Skewness and inequality of shoot sizedistributions were genotype-dependent and increased with rotations. Highest biomass production wasfound for genotypes P. × canadensis '83.148.041', 'Monviso' and (P. × generosa) × P. trichocarpa 'AF8' withmean annual dry mass production of 21.7, 19.5 and 19.3 Mg ha-1year-1, respectively. Genotype × rotationinteractions were significant on shoot size, diameter and number, but not on survival and biomass pro-duction highlighting that genotypes behaved differently over rotations. Moisture and ash content, woodspecific gravity, and higher heating value were determined at the end of the third biennial rotation, andsignificant differences among genotypes were found. This study is critical for investigating the behav-ior of novel poplar genotypes with potential for commercial biomass production over multiple coppicerotations.
Evaluation of biomass production potential and heating value ofhybrid poplar genotypes in a short-rotation culture in Italy
2014
Abstract
tEnsuring increased and sustainable biomass production is critical for European countries. Short-rotationcoppice (SRC) plantations on agricultural lands have a great potential to increase biomass supply for bio-fuels, bioenergy, and bioproducts. In Italy, SRC is based on the use of fast growing species, high plantingdensity, and short harvesting cycles. In this study, the performance of new genotypes to be used in SRCplantations for biomass production was evaluated after three biennial rotations. At the trial plantationin Mira (Northern Italy), six different poplar (Populus) genotypes, belonging to different interspecifichybrids were studied. This plantation provided the opportunity to study the relationships between sur-vival, biomass production and other growth parameters over multiple rotations and for a wide genotypicrange. Biomass production differed significantly among rotations starting from 16 Mg ha-1year-1in thefirst, peaking at 20 Mg ha-1year-1in the second, and decreasing to 17 Mg ha-1year-1in the third rota-tion. At the end of each rotation, significant differences among genotypes were observed in number ofshoots per stool and per ha, stem diameter, tree height, and biomass production. Mean survival ratesbecame significantly different from the other rotations only in the third rotation during which survivalrate ranged from 95% for (P. × generosa) × P. nigra 'Monviso' to 75% for (P. × generosa) × P. nigra 'AF6',but non-significant difference was observed among genotypes. Skewness and inequality of shoot sizedistributions were genotype-dependent and increased with rotations. Highest biomass production wasfound for genotypes P. × canadensis '83.148.041', 'Monviso' and (P. × generosa) × P. trichocarpa 'AF8' withmean annual dry mass production of 21.7, 19.5 and 19.3 Mg ha-1year-1, respectively. Genotype × rotationinteractions were significant on shoot size, diameter and number, but not on survival and biomass pro-duction highlighting that genotypes behaved differently over rotations. Moisture and ash content, woodspecific gravity, and higher heating value were determined at the end of the third biennial rotation, andsignificant differences among genotypes were found. This study is critical for investigating the behav-ior of novel poplar genotypes with potential for commercial biomass production over multiple coppicerotations.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
