Short rotation coppice

The crop is harvested in the winter after leaf fall. New shoots emerge the following spring from the stool or stump and are then allowed to grow for three years before harvesting again. 

No fertiliser is needed during the estabhshmentyear and it is almost impossible to spread fertiliser in years two and three of growth, so all must be appUed ditring 

A residual herbicide can be applied after planting and again at any time during dormancy if required. Pendimethalin is often used. In years two and three the crop is very competitive with weeds and no herbicides should be required, indeed they would be impossible to apply. 

Melampsora mst is the most important disease and willows are highly susceptible. Varietal resistance is being developed and it is recommended that four or five varieties should be planted randomly within a field to slow down the spread of the disease. Fungicides are not generally used. 

Willow beetles are the main pests of willows and poplars and should be spot treated with a knapsack sprayer if in large colonies. An overall spray of insecticide is not practical and could be environmentally damaging. 

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The uptake of heavy metals from soils is also determined by their contents in soil and by plant species. If these crops are used for anaerobic digestion one has to consider that there is a remarkable risk of an accumulation of heavy metals in soil. In the case of combustion, most heavy metals can be removed by filtering the ash and it can be used safely as fertiliser. Thus cultivation and combustion of short rotation coppice is a smart scheme of removing heavy metals from contaminated soils. 

Lignocellulosic perennial crops (e.g., short-rotation coppices and grasses) are a promising feedstock becanse of high yields, low costs, good snitability for low-quality land (which is more easily available for energy crops), and the low environmental impacts. 

Langer, V. 2001. The potential of leys and short rotation coppice hedges as reservoirs for parasi-toids of cereal aphids in organic agriculture. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 87(1) 81-92. 

DEFRA (2002). Growing short rotation coppice—Best practice guidelines rural development programme—England, July 2002. www.defra.gov.uk. 

Rensfell E. Everard D. (1998) Update on Project ARBRE Wood Gasification Plant Utilising Short Rotation Coppice and Forestry Residues. Seminar on Power Production from Biomass III. Espoo, Finland. 14-15 September. 

Alkalis contained in biofuels vary in a wide range depending on biomass sources. Agricultural residues such as straw are on the top in the alkalis content, followed by grass, short rotation coppices and bark of trees. Woody biomass has the least content of alkalis. In the present work, a straw is used as a typical fuel for potassium release study. The elementary analysis of the straw is given in Table 1. 

Guha, A., Reddy, A.R., 2013. Leaf functional traits and stem wood characteristics influencing biomass productivity of mulberry Moms spp. L) genot5fpes grown in short-rotation coppice system. BioEnergy Research 6, 547—563. 

Criteria First generation (sugar, starch, oil, natural rubber) Second generation (lignocellulose -wood and short rotation coppice) Byproducts from agriculture and forestry... 

Plant Salix viminalis (Figure 1) belongs to the group of so called short-rotation coppices agriculturally cultivated as a renewable source of energy (Bogesson et al., 1997). 

Peacock L, Herrick S, Brain P (1999) Spatio-temporal dynamics of willow beetle (Phratora vulgatissimd) in short-rotation coppice willows grown as monocultures or a genetically diverse mixture. Agric Forest Entomol 1 287-296 Peacock L, Lewis M, Powers S (2001) Volatile compounds from Salix spp. Varieties differing in susceptibility to three willow beetle species J Chem Ecol 27 1943-1951 Pena-Cortes H, Sanchez-Serrrano JJ, Mertens R, WiUmitzer L (1989) Abscisic acid is involved in... 

The main biomass crops are Short Rotation Coppice (mainly willow) and Miscanthus grown for pellets, billets or chips for use mainly in co-fired power stations where they are burnt with coal, or in domestic or community heating systems. Crop wastes such as straw can be burnt in on-farm boilers to provide heating for grain drying. 

Stemwood produced from managed forestry or woodland is often better quality than that from short rotation coppice and no specialist equipment is needed for harvest. It is usually chipped or cut into manageable sized logs. 

Labrecque M, Teodorescu TI. 2005. Field Performance and Biomass Production of 12 Willow and Poplar Clones in Short-Rotation Coppice in Southern Quebec (Canada). Biomass Bioener. 29 1-9. 

Fantozzi, F., Buratti, C., 2010. Life cycle assessment of biomass chains wood pellet from short rotation coppice using data measured on a real plant. Biomass and Bioenergy 34 (12), 1796-1804. 

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