RT Journal Article
T1 Biomass Production and Quality of Twelve Fast-Growing Tree Taxa in Short Rotation under Mediterranean Climate
A1 Alaejos Gutiérrez, Joaquín
A1 Tapias Martín, Raúl
A1 López Baldovín, Francisco
A1 Romero Gómez, David
A1 Ruiz, Federico
A1 Fernández Martínez, Manuel
AB Sustainable production of lignocellulosic biomass for energy use can contribute to climate change mitigation. This work aims to compare the biomass production of twelve fast-growing woody taxa belonging to the Eucalyptus, Casuarina, Populus and Paulownia genera, the quality of their biomass for energy use and its valorizing through transformation into pellets, as well as the effect of the crop on the soil. Over the course of two rotations, plant growth and biomass production were assessed. The yield of aboveground dry biomass ranged from 9 to 61 Mg ha−1 year−1 (equivalent to 137–867 GJ ha−1 year−1). The highest yields were obtained for Eucalyptus clones (51–61 Mg ha−1 year−1). The N-fixing species Casuarina equisetifolia and two Populus × euramericana clones (‘Adige’ and ‘AF2’) also achieved high yields (28–33 Mg ha−1 year−1), though significantly smaller than those of the eucalypts. Due to its low wood density, Paulownia fortunei was not very productive in terms of biomass (18 Mg ha−1 year−1), despite its good growth in diameter and height. However, some management practices, such as not removing nutrient-rich and poor-quality biomass fractions for energy use (leaves and thin branches) from the harvested crop, as well as the use of N-fixing species and by taking into account all nutrient inputs and outputs, can ensure the sustainability of the cultivation systems and improve degraded soils.
PB MDPI
SN 1999-4907 (electrónico)
YR 2023
FD 2023-06
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10272/22176
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10272/22176
LA eng
NO Alaejos, J.; Tapias, R.; López, F.; Romero, D.; Ruiz, F.; Fernández, M. (2023) Biomass Production and Quality of Twelve Fast-Growing Tree Taxa in Short Rotation under Mediterranean Climate. In Forests (N. 14, p. 1156.) https://doi.org/10.3390/f14061156
NO This research was funded by the Autonomous Community of Andalusia (C01-121 and RNM-6398), and the Economy and Competitiveness Ministry of Spain (ref. CTQ2013-46804-C2-1-R and CTQ2017-85251-C2-2-R), by FEDER funds of the EU, and by the company ENCE, Energía y Celulosa S.A. (8%, 6%, 6%, 70%, 10%, respectively).
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 15 jun 2026