Environmental justification for short-rotation forestry in Sweden

Abstract Short rotation forestry in its present context deals mainly with willows and to some extent with alders and poplars. The aim of this paper is to present and discuss which direct and indirect environmental factors that are improved in such a way that there is a clear justification for promoting growth and use of short-rotation forestry in Sweden. It is clear that willow cultivation promotes biodiversity, if established and managed correctly, compared with conventional agriculture and forestry. Its capacity to efficiently take up nutrients and heavy metals (including cadmium) is shown in several experiments. In this respect, willow can be used as a vegetation filter for wastewater treatment instead of conventional treatment plants. Calculations have shown that the economy of such filters is more favourable than that of conventional plants, at least for societies up to 2000 person equivalents (pe). SRF crops, used for heating purposes, are carbon dioxide neutral and also reduce many of the air-polluting components compared with fossil fuels. The conclusion, therefore, must be that there are several justifications for growing and using SRF, not least as substitution for fossil fuels.