growth and yield results of timber trees … · rotation coppice tree crop morhart et al, 2015,...

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25/05/2016 1 GROWTH AND YIELD RESULTS OF TIMBER TREES MIXED WITH POPLAR SRC: 9 YEARS OF AN EXPERIMENTAL PLOT IN THE PO VALLEY Gianni Facciotto (1) , Pierluigi Paris (2) , Sara Bergante (1) 1) Consiglio per la ricerca e la sperimentazione in agricoltura – Unità di ricerca per le produzioni legnose fuori foresta. Casale Monferrato (AL) Italy 2) Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche –Istituto di Biologia Agroambientale e forestale – Porano (TR) Italy EURAF European Agroforestry Federation 3° European Agroforestry Conference Montpellier, 23-25 May 2016

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25/05/2016 1

GROWTH AND YIELD RESULTS OF

TIMBER TREES MIXED WITH POPLAR SRC:

9 YEARS OF AN EXPERIMENTAL PLOT

IN THE PO VALLEY

Gianni Facciotto(1), Pierluigi Paris(2) , Sara Bergante (1)

1) Consiglio per la ricerca e la sperimentazione in agricoltura – Unità di ricerca per le produzioni legnose fuori foresta. Casale Monferrato (AL) Italy

2) Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche –Istituto di Biologia Agroambientale e forestale – Porano (TR) Italy

EURAF – European Agroforestry Federation

3° European Agroforestry Conference

Montpellier, 23-25 May 2016

25/05/2016 2

This new cultural model has been firstly tested in Northern Italy

(2007), and then within a EU Project (AgroCop 2012-14)

.

Alley coppice:

Integration between

timber trees and Short

Rotation Coppice tree

crop

Morhart et al, 2015, Annals

For Sci

Advantages

1. Multipurpose cultivations

2. Periodical incomes from biomass

3. Tutoring and protection on timber

trees

4. Soil protection, GHG absorption,

biodiversity

Problems

1. Higher planting costs

2. Complex management

25/05/2016 3

Materials and methods The site

Casale Monferrato – AL Lat: 45°08’42” N

Long: 8°30’31” E Alt: 106 m a.s.l. Haplic Regosols

(Calcaric,

Endoarenic)

Timber trees

Pyrus and Sorbus clones in vitroculture propagated (Univ. Milan) and grown 1 year in box

SRC – 3 Poplar

clones:

Populus deltoides ‘Lux’,

‘Oglio’

P. ×canadensis Triplo

25/05/2016 4

Experimental design

Timber trees Mixed stand

Timber trees + SRC

• • • • • • •

• • • (1) • • • (4) •

• • • • • • •

• • • • • • •

• • • (2) • • • (3) •

• • • • • • •

• • • • • • •

• • • (4) • • • (3) •

• • • • • • •

• • • • • • •

• • • (2) • • • (1) •

• • • • • • •

• • • (2) • • • (1) •

hemispherical photography soil moisture probes

1

2

3

10

11

12

1bis

2bis

A

B

C

D E

F

G

H

L

K

J

I

Timber trees:

Complete randomize

blocks

with 4 rep.

Experimental unit 720 m2

SRC:

Split in sub-plot

Experimental unit clone

150 m2

25/05/2016 5

Establishment and tending

• Soil ploughing (30 cm depth) and harrowing before planting.

• Poplars horizontal unrooted long cuttings (120 cm)

• Hardwood seedlings, one year old

• Lolium perenne as cover-crop

• Herbicides spraying after planting only on poplar

• Soil harrowings for weed control, once in late spring.

• Srinkler irrigation once - twice per year.

• 1-2 treatments against Crisomela populi in the spring and summer (SRC)

• The SRC plots were harvested at the end of the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th year

25/05/2016 6

Results: tree growth

Growth of timber trees and poplar SRC

Timber trees in pure stands are bigger

than those grown in association with

SRC poplars (p<0.05).

During 2015, due to water availability

and low competition in height timber

trees (particularlyPyrus) improved

their growth.

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

1 2_C 3 4_C 5 6_C 7 8_C 9

Hei

ght

(cm

)

Years

Poplar Pure timber AC

X_C: coppicing year

25/05/2016 7

Results: water and light competition

No water competition

between timber and SRC

trees (2014, 8th gs; R8/S2

Hemispherical photos for studying Total

Light Transmittance (TLT)

AC: Timber trees + SRC

Pure Timber trees

Timber trees in AC:

-24% Solar Radiation than Pure

treatment

Soil moisture content 0-100 cm

25/05/2016 8

Results

Explorative assessment of wood qualitiy of timber trees

Q = 3L – (E + F + DI + DF + DM + CF + Kn + EB)

L = log morphology coefficient

(log length and stem straightness)

E = stem eccentricity

F = fibre orientation

DI = insect damage

DF = bacteria/fungi damage

DM = mechanical damage

CF = presence/absence of a critical fork

Kn = knots

EB = epicormic branches

Treatments Q

Alley coppice 55

Timber only 32

25/05/2016 9

• The high competition caused statistically significant effects on the timber trees: negative ones on growth, particularly in the first years, and positive ones on their stem shape (i.e. SRC protect Timber trees from wind and storm) reducing pruning intensity too.

• After nine growing seasons, the timber trees in the alley coppice stands reached satisfactory dimensions, besides improved stem shape and wood quality, in comparison with the timber trees grown in pure stands.

• The competition can be mitigated by increasing the distance between timber trees and poplarSRC.

Concluding remarks

25/05/2016 10

AgroCop Project: Yield and Financial simulation

Yield simulations (by Jeremy

Andrè, INRA Montpellier) Net present value simulations

(by Luca Tosi, PhD CNR IBAF)

25/05/2016 11

Using alley coppicing for establishing timber trees in agroforestry systems

Planting some timber tree lines

when establishing a SRC

plantation can be a feasible way of

integrating timber and bioenergy

production.

Once the SRC stools will be

removed (approx. after 10-15

years), the timber trees should

have a good size and stem form.

Those tree can be intercropped

with herbaceous crops into an

agroforestry management.