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Title: Ecosystem services of poplar at long-term phytoremediation sites in the Midwest and Southeast, United States

Journal Article · · Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Energy and Environment
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/wene.349 · OSTI ID:1615911
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [1];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [8];  [5];  [9];  [1]
  1. USDA Forest Service, Rhinelander, WI (United States). Northern Research Station
  2. Univ. of Arkansas, Monticello, AR (United States)
  3. Space Science Inst., Boulder, CO (United States)
  4. Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)
  5. North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States)
  6. Environmental Forestry Consultants, New London, WI (United States)
  7. Ecolotree, Inc., North Liberty, IA (United States)
  8. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Lemont, IL (United States)
  9. Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)

Short rotation woody crops (SRWCs) including Populus species and their hybrids (i.e., poplars) are ideal for incorporating biomass production with phytotechnologies such as phytoremediation. To integrate these applications, 15 poplar plantings from nine long-term phytoremediation installations were sampled from 2012 to 2013 in the Midwest (Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin) and Southeast (Alabama, Florida, North Carolina) United States. In this review, we report summary results of this sampling and how performance at each site compared with comparable phytoremediation systems in the literature. We review significant genotypic differences from each planting within the context of provisioning (i.e., biomass production) and regulating (i.e., carbon sequestration) ecosystem services and how they relate to the need for a cleaner environment during times of accelerated ecological degradation. Overall, the contaminated poplar sites provided these ecosystem services comparable to noncontaminated poplar sites used for bioenergy and biofuels feedstock production. For example, phytoremediation trees at the Midwestern sites had biomass values ranging from 4.4 to 15.5 Mg ha–1 y–1, which was 20% less relative to bioenergy trees (p = .0938). Results were similar for diameter and carbon, with some genotype x environment interactions resulting in phytoremediation trees exhibiting substantially greater growth and productivity (i.e., +131% at one site). As illustrated in the current review, phytoremediation success can be increased with the identification and deployment of genotypes tailored to grow well and tolerate a broad diversity of contaminants (generalists) (i.e., 'DN34', 'NM6', '7300501') versus those that significantly outperform their counterparts under unique site conditions (specialists) (i.e., '220-5', '51-5', 'S13C20').

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1615911
Journal Information:
Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Energy and Environment, Vol. 8, Issue 6; Conference: 6.International Poplar Symposium (IPS VI) , Vancouver (Canada), 20-23 Jul 2014; ISSN 2041-8396
Publisher:
WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Growth and physiological responses of three poplar clones grown on soils artificially contaminated with heavy metals, diesel fuel, and herbicides journal October 2019