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Fast-Growing Forest Plantations for Moving Forward to a Low Carbon...
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Fast-Growing Forest Plantations for Moving Forward to a Low Carbon Bioeconomy

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Economics, Policy, and Social Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 April 2024) | Viewed by 6038

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Nerea Oliveira

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Forestry Research Centre, INIA-CSIC, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: forest plantations; short rotation coppice; biomass; bioenergy; Populus

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Developing a circular bioeconomy based on the sustainable use of biological resources appears to be the best way of responding to challenges associated with global change. Wood is a key resource used to redirect the linear economy based on fossil resources to a circular bioeconomy. Forest plantations are not only an essential tool to cover the necessary supply of quality wood, but also to cover the supply of biomass, both for the production of bioenergy and for the generation of bioproducts. Improving the sustainability of forest plantations depends on advances made in different aspects of the process, including the suitability of the genetic material (breading and selection), design and management, an evaluation of the production and development of accurate estimation tools, as well as the valorization of sustainability in plantations (economic, social, and environmental) and of the ecosystem services provided.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Suitable plant materials;
  • Production quantification and prediction;
  • Crop management to optimize production;
  • Economic analyses;
  • Ecosystem services.

Dr. Nerea Oliveira
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • forest plantations
  • woody crops
  • wood
  • biomass
  • production
  • sustainable
  • ecosystem services
  • fast-growing trees

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2960 KiB  
Article
Early Dynamics of Carbon Accumulation as Influenced by Spacing of a Populus deltoides Planting
by Emile S. Gardiner, Krishna P. Poudel, Theodor D. Leininger, Ray A. Souter, Randall J. Rousseau and Bini Dahal
Forests 2024, 15(2), 226; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15020226 - 24 Jan 2024
Viewed by 871
Abstract
The fast-growing tree, eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides), currently is being planted to catalyze native forest restoration on degraded agricultural sites in the southeastern United States. Many of these restoration sites are appropriate for short rotation woody crop (SRWC) culture that addresses climate [...] Read more.
The fast-growing tree, eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides), currently is being planted to catalyze native forest restoration on degraded agricultural sites in the southeastern United States. Many of these restoration sites are appropriate for short rotation woody crop (SRWC) culture that addresses climate mitigation objectives, but information needed to optimize climate mitigation objectives through such plantings is limited. Therefore, we established a 10-year experiment on degraded agricultural land located in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, USA, aiming to quantify the dynamics of aboveground carbon (AGC) accumulation in a cottonwood planting of four replicated spacing levels (3.7 × 3.7 m, 2.7 × 1.8 m, 2.1 × 0.8 m, and (0.8 + 1.8) × 0.8 m) aligned with SRWC systems targeting various ecosystem services. Annual sampling revealed a substantial range in increments of AGC and year 10 carbon stocks among stands of different densities. Mean annual increments for AGC (MAIAGC) were similar for the two tightest spacing levels, peaking higher than for the other two spacings at about 7.5 Mg ha−1 y−1 in year 7. Year 10 AGC ranged between 22.3 Mg ha−1 for stands spaced 3.7 × 3.7 m and 70.1 Mg ha−1 for stands of the two tightest spacings, leading us to conclude that a spacing between 2.1 × 0.8 m and 2.7 × 1.8 m would maximize aboveground carbon stocks through year 10 on sites of similar agricultural degradation. Increments and accumulation of AGC on the degraded site trended lower than values reported from more productive sites but illustrate that quick and substantial transformation of the carbon stock status of degraded agricultural sites can be achieved with the application of SRWCs to restore forests for climate mitigation and other compatible ecosystem services. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fast-Growing Forest Plantations for Moving Forward to a Low Carbon Bioeconomy)
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10 pages, 1821 KiB  
Article
Testing the Production Potential of Paulownia Clon In Vitro 112® in the Czech Republic
by Jiří Kadlec, Kateřina Novosadová, Martin Kománek and Radek Pokorný
Forests 2023, 14(8), 1526; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14081526 - 26 Jul 2023
Viewed by 842
Abstract
Paulownia is a deciduous fast-growing tree with intensive sprouting ability and is well adapted to various climatic and soil conditions. Its native area extends from the middle to the lower section of the Yangtze River. The aim of our research was to test [...] Read more.
Paulownia is a deciduous fast-growing tree with intensive sprouting ability and is well adapted to various climatic and soil conditions. Its native area extends from the middle to the lower section of the Yangtze River. The aim of our research was to test the potential of Paulownia Clon in vitro 112® for production of saw timber in the conditions of the Czech Republic. In 2016, three private plantations were established—Střelice, Vlčatín and Vorel. The parameters that were measured were the total height, the height of the live above-ground part of each plant after the winter, the stem thickness at 10 cm above the ground, and the stem thickness at breast height. The measurements were taken from 2016 to 2021. At all plantations, the plants achieved very small mean annual increments in height (under 1 m) and thickness (under 1 cm). On average, 39% of the upper above-ground part of each plant was damaged by frost each winter and the cumulative mortality was 28% to 53%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fast-Growing Forest Plantations for Moving Forward to a Low Carbon Bioeconomy)
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17 pages, 5233 KiB  
Article
Attraction of Bees to Native and Introduced Willows (Salix spp.)
by Gabrielle Grandstaff, Yulia A. Kuzovkina and Ana Legrand
Forests 2023, 14(5), 959; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14050959 - 06 May 2023
Viewed by 1365
Abstract
Introduced willows have mostly been employed as a renewable feedstock for bioenergy in the northeastern USA. The question of whether introduced willows provide the same biodiversity value and attractiveness as native willows has not yet been explored. The objective of this study was [...] Read more.
Introduced willows have mostly been employed as a renewable feedstock for bioenergy in the northeastern USA. The question of whether introduced willows provide the same biodiversity value and attractiveness as native willows has not yet been explored. The objective of this study was to compare the attractiveness of native and introduced willows to different subfamilies of bees. The common garden experiment planted at Storrs, CT, USA, included three native (S. eriocephala, S. sericea, S. lucida) and three introduced (S. ‘SX64’, S. ‘Onondaga’, S. ‘S365’) willows. Various willow taxa flowered at different times through spring, allowing pollinators to be collected over a 6-week period using colored bowl traps. As a result, 2430 bees were collected and identified to the subfamily level. Andreninae was the most prevalent pollinator visiting all taxa of willows, followed by Hylaeinae and Colletinae. There were no significant differences in the number of pollinators collected from either native or introduced taxa during the progressive willow flowering during mid-March–May of 2021 and 2022, suggesting their equal attractiveness to pollinators. Similarly, during the concurrent flowering of the two native and two introduced taxa, there were no significant differences in the number of pollinators associated with either group suggesting that when pollinators had foraging choices, they were similarly attracted to both native and introduced willows. The overall finding of this study suggested that plantings of either native or introduced willows to meet bioenergy goals offer similar benefits of floral resources for pollinators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fast-Growing Forest Plantations for Moving Forward to a Low Carbon Bioeconomy)
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16 pages, 5880 KiB  
Article
Field Drying for Enhancing Biomass Quality of Eucalyptus Logs and Trees in Florida, USA
by Donald L. Rockwood, Bijay Tamang and Martin F. Ellis
Forests 2023, 14(5), 899; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14050899 - 27 Apr 2023
Viewed by 886
Abstract
Field drying Eucalyptus biomass can minimize the storage requirements, transportation costs, and/or the cost associated with biomass drying for biochar and other products. In central Florida, 12 6-year-old and 12 8-year-old Eucalyptus amplifolia and Eucalyptus grandis trees were field dried over two seasons, [...] Read more.
Field drying Eucalyptus biomass can minimize the storage requirements, transportation costs, and/or the cost associated with biomass drying for biochar and other products. In central Florida, 12 6-year-old and 12 8-year-old Eucalyptus amplifolia and Eucalyptus grandis trees were field dried over two seasons, with two months of field drying in each season, and two tree forms (logs, whole tree). The whole tree average initial moisture content (MCod) on a dry basis ranged between 115 and 121% in E. amplifolia and 116 and 119% in E. grandis. The season and duration of field drying affected drying, but species, tree size, and tree form did not. In southern Florida, 19 3+-year-old coppice stems of an E. grandis × Eucalyptus urophylla hybrid clone (EH1) were field dried over two months of one season, with and without tree tops. The whole tree initial MCod ranged between 119 and 138%. The duration of field drying affected drying, but tree size and tree tops did not. Both studies suggest that field drying can effectively reduce wood MC and thus enhance E. amplifolia, E. grandis, and EH1 biomass quality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fast-Growing Forest Plantations for Moving Forward to a Low Carbon Bioeconomy)
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18 pages, 4795 KiB  
Article
Belowground Biomass and Root:Shoot Ratios of Three Willow Cultivars at Two Sites
by Nathan J. Sleight, Timothy A. Volk and Mark Eisenbies
Forests 2023, 14(3), 525; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14030525 - 07 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1574
Abstract
Belowground biomass is an important but less studied component of energy crop systems that is essential in understanding the greenhouse gas benefits of these systems. In this study, a complete above- and belowground biomass inventory (foliage, stems, stools, coarse and fine roots) was [...] Read more.
Belowground biomass is an important but less studied component of energy crop systems that is essential in understanding the greenhouse gas benefits of these systems. In this study, a complete above- and belowground biomass inventory (foliage, stems, stools, coarse and fine roots) was performed on three cultivars of short-rotation willow biomass crops at two sites. Mixed models were used to analyze the proportion of biomass allocated to each component and the ratios between different components. The root:shoot (R:S) ratio, defined here as the stable unharvested biomass (stool and coarse roots) divided by the shoot biomass, averaged 0.63 (SE: +0.04). Though the portion of the plant where the willows distributed their belowground biomass varied, the R:S ratio was not significantly different across sites (p = 0.8970), cultivars (p = 0.2834), nor in the site × cultivar interaction (p = 0.8481). These results may be associated with the consistently good growth across sites and limited differences in site conditions. However, the R:S ratios were affected by the overall productivity of the stand (p = 0.0978), with higher producing stands having moderately lower ratios. This information on biomass allocation between components is essential for understanding and estimating the carbon balance of these systems and breeding and selection programs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fast-Growing Forest Plantations for Moving Forward to a Low Carbon Bioeconomy)
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