Yield models for commercial willow biomass plantations in Sweden

Abstract A yield model for willow plantations for bioenergy production in Sweden was developed based on recorded production of 2082 commercial plantations during the period 1989–2005. The model predicts yield for the first, second and third harvest using oats ( avena ) production as agro-climatic index. The mean annual yields were 2.6, 4.2 and 4.5 oven dry tonnes (odt) per hectare during the first, second and third cutting cycles, respectively. The yield correlated inversely with the length of the cutting cycle. The results of the study show significant differences between growers, which suggest the importance of proper management in the establishment and tending of the plantations. Model estimates for 25% of the best growers vary from 4.0 to 6.3 odt ha −1  yr −1 in 5-year-rotation plantations during the first cutting cycle, and from 5.4 to 7.1 odt ha −1  yr −1 in 4-year-rotations for the second cutting cycle. The proposed model can be applied in policy making and for management planning.

[1]  J. M. Peterson,et al.  Sustainability and environmental issues associated with willow bioenergy development in New York (U.S.A.). , 1998 .

[2]  T. Verwijst.  Cyclic and progressive changes in short-rotation willow coppice systems , 1996 .

[3]  A. Lindroth,et al.  Assessment of regional willow coppice yield in Sweden on basis of water availability , 1999 .

[4]  Franz Makeschin,et al.  Short-rotation plantations of balsam poplars, aspen and willows on former arable land in the Federal Republic of Germany. I. Site–growth relationships , 1999 .

[5]  Richard Sikkema,et al.  ESTABLISHMENT NEEDS FOR SHORT ROTATION FORESTRY IN THE EU TO MEET THE GOALS OF THE COMMISSION'S WHITE PAPER ON RENEWABLE ENERGY (NOVEMBER 1997) , 1998 .

[6]  L. Tahvanainen,et al.  Biomass production of Salix viminalis in southern Finland and the effect of soil properties and climate conditions on its production and survival , 1999 .

[7]  C. P. Mitchell,et al.  New cultural treatments and yield optimisation , 1995 .

[8]  L. Christersson.  Biomass production by irrigated and fertilized Salix clones , 1987 .

[9]  Edward A. Hansen,et al.  Poplar woody biomass yields: A look to the future , 1991 .

[10]  Traian I. Teodorescu,et al.  High biomass yield achieved by Salix clones in SRIC following two 3-year coppice rotations on abandoned farmland in southern Quebec, Canada , 2003 .

[11]  Anders Roos,et al.  Market development problems for sustainable bio-energy systems in Sweden. (The BIOMARK project) , 2004 .

[12]  Lawrence P. Abrahamson,et al.  Cutting cycle and spacing effects on biomass production by a willow clone in New York , 1997 .

[13]  Lars J Nilsson,et al.  Assessment of the potential biomass supply in Europe using a resource-focused approach , 2004 .

[14]  R. Ceulemans,et al.  A comparison among eucalypt, poplar and willow characteristics with particular reference to a coppice, growth-modelling approach , 1996 .

[15]  Leif Gustavsson,et al.  Future production and utilisation of biomass in Sweden: potentials and CO2 mitigation , 1997 .

[16]  Nils-Erik Nordh,et al.  Long term changes in stand structure and biomass production in short rotation willow coppice , 2005 .

[17]  S. Larsson,et al.  Genetic improvement of willow for short-rotation coppice , 1998 .