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Title: Site-specific early performance and nutrition of two Salix species in SRIC in southern Quebec (Canada)

Conference ·
OSTI ID:478736
; ;  [1]
  1. Institut de Recherche en Biologie Vegetale, Montreal, Quebec (Canada)

Salix discolor WU and Salix viminalis L. were planted under short-rotation intensive culture (SRIC) in three unirrigated and unfertilized abandoned farmland sites (S1, S2, S3) showing different soil textures: sandy loam, clay silt and clay loam. The aims of the experiment were to: (i) investigate first year response to site nutrient condition and (ii) diagnose factors limiting performance. Over the first season, stem biomass productivity was superior on the sandy site (S1) for S. discolor and did not vary between species on clay sites (S2, S3). The inferior performance of plants on clay sites was related to difficulty implanting unrooted cuttings in compacted soil during an exceptionally dry period (May and June). The change in nutrient status was unapparent solely from comparison of critical levels or optimum ratios because leaf nutrient concentration was less affected by site. Diagnostic techniques based on vector analysis of leaf nutrient concentration, content, and dry mass allowed simultaneous comparison of the nutrient status of two species planted on three sites. The relative deficiency of all nutrients, based on vector magnitude and direction, on the two other clay sites (S2, S3) supports the hypothesis that specific edaphic conditions and dryness induced nutrient disorders in willows. Successful establishment of willows in SRIC depends strongly on the characteristics of the plantation site and on precipitation during the establishment phase in the first year of growth.

OSTI ID:
478736
Report Number(s):
CONF-960958-; TRN: 97:002640-0128
Resource Relation:
Conference: Partnerships to develop and apply biomass technologies, Nashville, TN (United States), 15-19 Sep 1996; Other Information: PBD: 1996; Related Information: Is Part Of Bioenergy `96: Partnerships to develop and apply biomass technologies. Volume I and II; PB: 1171 p.
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English