Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Evaluation and genetic improvement of black cottonwood for short-rotation coppice culture. Annual technical report

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6951489
This project addresses two major objectives: (1) genetic improvement and (2) evaluation of quality criteria for fuel and/or chemical use of black cottonwood and its hybrids with P. deltoides. A six-year research program is designed to identify superior clones derived from natural populations of black cottonwood and from hybrids produced with P. deltoides plus trees. Both clonal and seedling selection are used to evaluate performance. Field trials will be conducted on two contrasting but common soil types and will compare early productivity of pure cottonwood plantations and of 1:1 mixtures of cottonwood with red alder (Alnus rubra). From an initial number of 1800 clones to be tested, a selection of the best 360 will be included in a second set of plantations to provide a more realistic assessment of the production potential of the species. A clone bank, preserving all 360 to 500 clones, will serve as a repository of germ plasm for subsequent field trials and research in the region. To satisfy the second major objective, an 8-year-old spacing trial of black cottonwood has been harvested during the first year and analyzed relative to biomass and several wood properties pertinent to fuel production. The progress made during the first four years demonstrates the importance of genetic variation in black cottonwood productivity. 12 references, 5 figures, 11 tables.
Research Organization:
Washington Univ., Seattle (USA). Coll. of Forest Resources; Washington State Univ., Pullman (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
FG01-78ET20599
OSTI ID:
6951489
Report Number(s):
DOE/ET/20599-T1; ON: DE84012458
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English