1 / 13

Experiences with short-rotation forestry (SRF) on agricultural land in Finland

Aki Villa, University of Joensuu. Experiences with short-rotation forestry (SRF) on agricultural land in Finland. FACULTY OF FOREST SCIENCES UNIVERSITY OF JOENSUU. MISSION. To focus research on the boreal forest ecosystem, Finland´s principal natural resource, and

talia
Télécharger la présentation

Experiences with short-rotation forestry (SRF) on agricultural land in Finland

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Aki Villa, University of Joensuu Experiences with short-rotation forestry (SRF) on agricultural land in Finland

  2. FACULTY OF FOREST SCIENCES UNIVERSITY OF JOENSUU MISSION • To focus research on the boreal forest ecosystem, Finland´s principal natural resource, and • To train experts, graduate foresters, in the study, management, protection and utilisation of this natural resource. • Established 1982

  3. Resources • Permanent staff total 33 • professors, 11 fulltime, 2 shared • senior assistants 9 and one lecturer • other personnel 10 • Project personnel about 70 • Student body about 480 • Undergraduates 316 (4% foreign students) • Post-graduates 91 (15% foreign students) • Exchange students 73 • Budget • Total budget 5 million euros • From external sources about 43 %

  4. WILLOW (Salix sp.) CULTIVATION • Short rotation forestry (SRF) • High biomass productivity through: • high density (13 000 cuttings/ha planted in Sweden) and • repeated harvesting (for 20 years) with short cutting cycles (3-5 years) • intensive cultivation practices • (weed control, fertilization, mechanical planting and harvesting) • regeneration of the next crop via coppicing

  5. WILLOW (Salix sp.) CULTIVATION Salix schwerinii plantation on private farm land in Liperi, North Karelia, 26th September 2007, plantation established on 23-25 May 2007

  6. WILLOW (Salix sp.) CULTIVATIONSpecies/clone selection • good rooting ability and straight shoot form for mechanical harvesting • fast growth at an early age • tolerance for high density • resistance to diseases and pests • resistance to frost damage • other species: grey alder, pubescent birch, aspen • (poplars and eucalypts in more southern areas) • advantage of woody biomass • use as chips convenient in small scale energy facilities where reed canary grass not possible • perennial plant, new growth can be generated into old biomass • harvesting possible also with shallow snow cover.

  7. PRODUCTIVITY OF WILLOW IN EASTERN FINLAND • Siikasalmi field trial • located in North Karelia near Joensuu • agricultural mineral field (poor in humus) • species: Salix schwerinii, S. dasyclados, S. burjatica • planted 1991 with densities 4 000-32 000 cuttings/ha • cut back in spring 1992 (beginning of year 1) • 1st rotation: harvested in autumn 1996 (year 5, shoot age 5) • 2nd rotation: years 6-11 (shoot age 1-6)

  8. PRODUCTIVITY OF WILLOW IN EASTERN FINLAND

  9. PRODUCTIVITY OF WILLOW IN EASTERN FINLAND/ Conclusion • yield level of 10 tons per hectare and year has been achieved in the two first harvest cycles with a planting density of 16 000 cuttings/ha and a moderate fertilization regime with a harvest cycle of four yearson mineral agricultural soils with Salix schwerinii • delaying harvesting with 1-2 years does not appear to cause significant yield losses • irrigation has increased yield, especially in the highest densities (yield doubled at the best), with low amount of nutrients • productivity on cutaway peat bogs during the first 3 years has been lower: about 5 t/ha/a with liming, intensive fertilization and high planting density of 40 - 41 000 cuttings per hectare (Hytönen 1996) => poorer economics than on mineral fields and with reed canary grass

  10. Growing zone Energy crop, t/ha II III IV V 1 Reed canary grass 7,6 8,4 6,8 5,6 1 Willow 8,2 9,0 7,3 6,0 2 Rape 1,9 2,0 1,3 Straw 2,0 2,0 2,0 1 Reed canary grass (cutaway 5,5 6,0 4,9 4,0 bogs, other arable fields) 1 2 3 dry matter, at selling moisture (9 %), harvested Estimated yield of willow in Eastern Finland(REAEF 2004) Planting year 0 t/ha/a 1st cutting cycle (4 years) 7 t/ha/a 2nd and further 4-year cutting cycles 10 t/ha/a ↓ life span 21 years

  11. WILLOW (Salix sp.) CULTIVATION in FINLAND • establishment of cutting production plantations • production organized as a farmers’ co-operative (like Agrobränsle in Sweden) or through energy entrepreneurship to cut investment costs per farm • current Swedish planting and harvesting machinery not existing in Finnish agriculture due to expensive price • existing energy wood harvesting technology for young forest stands applicable? • national environmental support also for willow in the future (reed canary grass eligible for national subsidies) • more research on waste water irrigation in Finland

  12. WILLOW (Salix sp.) CULTIVATION in EASTERN FINLAND • 7-year old Salix myrsinifolia • plantation under harvesting • in Siikasalmi on the 24th of • April 2007 • farm tractor based system probable in Finland

  13. Thank you for your attention. • Contacts: • University of Joensuu • Faculty of Forest Sciences • aki.villa@joensuu.fi • www.joensuu.fi

More Related