Short-Rotation Woody-Crops Program

Short-rotation intensive culture, as a management approach, utilizes selected fast-growing trees and shrubs planted at close spacing to produce large quantities of biomass on limited land areas. Rapid growth is encouraged by the use of fertilizers, weed control, and other agronomic management techniques. Regrowth is an integral component of the short-rotation intensive culture concept. Such regrowth or coppice growth offers several advantages including higher yields per unit land area and shorter investment periods. Research in the SRWCP consists primarily of field studies designed to quantify and improve the levels of productivity attainable with intensive management. The SRWCP is divided into three major research areas: (1) species selection, (2) stand management, and (3) economic studies. Each research area is characterized by an objective and a set of activities that contribute to reaching the overall objective for the SRWCP. Species selection projects test, select, and develop species and strains of trees and shrubs for short-rotation intensive culture. Projects in the stand management area identify the most cost-effective and efficient techniques for establishing and maintaining short-rotation plantations. The third research area, economic studies, includes projects that evaluate the economic viability of short-rotation intensive culture systems.