Some seasonal carbohydrate fluctuations in coppiced rootstocks of Platanus occidentalis

Technical Report ·

OSTI ID:5398128

Blum, M R; Steinbeck, K

Carbohydrate concentrations were determined in 11-year-old rootstocks of American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) which had been coppiced on one- or two-year rotations for the preceding eight years. Sixty rootstocks were destructively sampled periodically between September 1976 and April 1977. Root starch concentrations declined erratically from 21 percent of dry weight in autumn to 14 percent by late April. Sugar levels rose from 1.5 percent in autumn to 5 percent in winter and declined to 3 percent in spring. Considerable variation in root starch levels from tree to tree was observed, and differences in starch and sugar concentrations between rootstocks coppiced on an annual or biannual basis were unimportant. These data suggest that while differences in above-ground biomass yields encountered in short rotation coppice forestry are not due to differences in rootstocks carbohydrate concentrations, the total quantity of reserve carbohydrate stored in a root system is probably a controlling factor for sprout regrowth potential.

• Research Organization: Georgia Univ., Athens (USA). School of Forest Resources
• DOE Contract Number: EG-77-S-09-1015
• OSTI ID: 5398128
• Report Number(s): SRO-1015-T4
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Thesis
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
SYCAMORES
CARBOHYDRATES
SHORT ROTATION CULTIVATION
BIOMASS
FORESTRY
ROOTS
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
YIELDS
CULTIVATION TECHNIQUES
ENERGY SOURCES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
TREES
VARIATIONS
140504* - Solar Energy Conversion- Biomass Production & Conversion- (-1989)