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Commercially Grown Short Rotation Coppice Willow in Denmark: Biomass Production and Factors Affecting Production

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The objectives of this study were to estimate biomass production in commercially grown short rotation coppice willow in Denmark and to investigate effects of site and management factors on willow yield. Biomass production assessed by non-destructive sampling on 296 plots from 25 plantations was analyzed using a mixed model approach. Average production in the stands varied between 2.4 and 15.1 odt ha−1 year−1, and average second rotation growth (8.2 odt ha−1 year−1) was significantly higher than first rotation growth (6.5 odt ha−1 year−1). Annual production was significantly correlated with clone, soil texture, soil drainage, fertilization, weeds, rotation number, and shoot age. Further, interactions between clone and soil drainage as well as between clone and soil texture were significant, indicating the importance of a site-specific choice of clones.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by HedeDanmark A/S, Dalgas Innovation, Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management University of Copenhagen, and the Danish Agency for Science Technology and Innovation. We greatly acknowledge the 14 farmers for the use of their SRC willow stands and providing us with the historic information. We thank Lise Bak for weighing shoots and for the determination of moisture content and senior scientists Morten Ingerslev and Uffe Jørgensen for the discussion of the experimental design and evaluation of the results.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 23, 1958, Frederiksberg C, Denmark

    Thomas Nord-Larsen & Karsten Raulund-Rasmussen

  2. Dalgasgroup, Klostermarken 12, 8800, Viborg, Denmark

    Lisbeth Sevel

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  1. Thomas Nord-Larsen
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  2. Lisbeth Sevel
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Correspondence to Lisbeth Sevel.

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Nord-Larsen, T., Sevel, L. & Raulund-Rasmussen, K. Commercially Grown Short Rotation Coppice Willow in Denmark: Biomass Production and Factors Affecting Production. Bioenerg. Res. 8, 325–339 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-014-9517-6

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