Management of plantations
Blas MOLA-YUDEGO
Summary
This session will entail several lectures and will review the main management characteristics concerning fast growing plantations, focusing particularly on the cultivation of willow and poplar in the Nordic countries. It will also provide further details concerning the main tending practices and operations, and will review the current production levels in different EU countries from alternative fast growing species including, for instance, hybrid aspen and short rotation birch, as well as in South America, including eucalyptus and loblolly pine. Particularly in Brazil, planted forests dominate the sector (80% of production value), and have been stimulated since the 60’s, through tax incentives. The modern phase of silviculture dates from the 90’s to the present, with Eucalyptus as the most planted species. These plantations present high growth rates (40 m3/ha/year) and low rotation (7 years), and are dedicated for cellulose and wood for energy are the most important products (80% of planted forests production value). The stand establishment composed of ant control, soil preparation: sub soiling and fertilization, weed control, and irrigation. Coppice regeneration important aspect of eucalyptus short rotations, requiring additional nutrient applications and the control of the number of sprouts per stump.
Objectives
- To provide further details concerning the management of fast growing plantations for energy
- Plantations of willow, poplar (northern Europe), eucalyptus and pine (south America) will be further described.
Materials
Management of plantations [video]. Willow plantations have been established in Sweden since 1980s for the production of biomass for energy. The main management includes cutting cycles of about 4 years for a total of 20-25 years of plantation’s lifespan. The system is a double raw system, with cutback on the second year and different fertilization regimes. The presentation reviews the Swedish case and presents the main characteristics and management regime of the cultivation, as well as the utilization in district heating and some ideas about their relative success in the country. Some information about the expansion of the crop can be found in Mola-Yudego and Gonzalez-Olabarria (2010) and a summary of the cultivation in Mola-Yudego et al, (2014).
Ferraz Filho, A. C., Scolforo, J. R. S., & Mola-Yudego, B. (2014). The coppice-with-standards silvicultural system as applied to Eucalyptus plantations—a review. Journal of Forestry Research, 25(2), 237-248. [PDF]
- Video Pruning Pine [video]