Five years of research in energy plantation in southern Quebec (Canada)

Conference · Fri Dec 31 00:00:00 EST 1993

OSTI ID:140305

Labrecque, M; Teodorescu, T I ^[1]

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1. Jardin Botanique de Montreal, Quebec (Canada)

Since 1989, short rotation and intensive culture (SRIC) techniques have been experimented to grow various fast growing species of trees and shrubs for energy plantation or environmental purposes. The objectives were to evaluate the biomass productivity with respect to (1) different weed control methods during the establishment phase; (2) drainage conditions and soil quality of the plantation site; and (3) frequency of coppicing. Native or introduced species of willows and various species of shrubs, such as honeysuckle and cornel, were grown in an experimental design in the nursery of the Montreal Botanical Garden on former agricultural land. Productivity, in tons of dry material per hectare, was evaluated and compared by harvesting shoot and branch samples at the end of each growing season. Weed control is essential to the establishment of trees in SRIC. When weed repression was applied during the two first growing seasons, biomass productivity was 4 to 5 times greater than the biomass produced on the control plot of the well drained site. With good weed control, willows can yield more than 20 tons of dry material on well drained site and near 15 tons on a poorly drained site, only two years after plantation. The growth potential of shrub species is also interesting. Some of them were able to produce up to 10 tons of dry biomass per hectare per year, which is appreciable considering that such species can be used on marginal lands and for the fixation of river banks. Frequency of coppicing also influences productivity. For willows, we determined that three-year rotation cycle allowed the highest biomass productivity. Shrubs should be coppiced each year to obtain the best results. Fast growing species and SRIC techniques are not only a good way of producing wood and alcohol for energy but they also represent a way of rapidly colonizing degraded or marginal sites and of fixing river banks.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
• OSTI ID: 140305
• Report Number(s): NREL/CP-200-5768-Vol.1; CONF-9308106-Vol.1; ON: DE93010050; TRN: 93:003926-0036
• Resource Relation: Conference: 1. biomass conference of the Americas: energy, environment, agriculture, and industry, Burlington, VT (United States), 30 Aug - 2 Sep 1993; Other Information: PBD: [1993]; Related Information: Is Part Of First Biomass Conference of the Americas: Energy, environment, agriculture, and industry; Proceedings, Volume 1; PB: 796 p.
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
QUEBEC
RENEWABLE RESOURCES
BIOMASS PLANTATIONS
PRODUCTIVITY
CULTIVATION TECHNIQUES
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
TREES
SHRUBS
DRAINAGE
WILLOWS
HARVESTING
PLANT GROWTH
WOOD
SHORT ROTATION CULTIVATION
EROSION CONTROL
WEEDS
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
COPPICES