Opportunities for short rotation coppice production on free-range chicken farms in Flanders: farmers’ perceptions and cost-benefit analysis

AbstractThis paper focuses on systems producing short rotation coppice willows (SRCW) in chickens’ free-range areas. We aim to map chicken farmers’ motivation to implement SRCW, and to assess the economic viability of these systems. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 free-range chicken farmers. Farmers agreed that chickens would prefer SRCW over grassland, which could benefit chicken welfare. They expected establishing an SRCW system would be labor intensive, and doubted if it would be a profitable investment. Some concerns of farmers might be taken away by exchanging information with farmers with SRCW experience. A partial budget analysis was performed to calculate the net present value (NPV) of six different scenarios, differing in the type of chickens, in whether the produced biomass was sold or valorized on-farm and in harvest pattern, all over a 23-yr period. The NPV was positive but low for all scenarios. A sensitivity analysis showed that changes in biomass yield, wood chip price, a price premium for poultry products and current fuel price were most likely to influence the NPV. A risk analysis revealed that NPVs were positive in the majority of the modeled cases. Scenarios in which biomass was used for on-farm heat production showed the highest risk of a negative NPV. A price premium for poultry products may be most effective at increasing profitability, but may only be feasible for farms selling directly to consumers. Establishing a solid market for biomass energy, including guaranteed demand and availability of appropriate machinery for cultivation, may mitigate farmers’ concerns.

Download Full-text

Interactions between broiler chickens, soil parameters and short rotation coppice willow in a free-range system

Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems ◽

10.1080/21683565.2018.1557777 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 43 (9) ◽

pp. 1009-1030 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lisanne M. Stadig ◽

Frank A. M. Tuyttens ◽

T. Bas Rodenburg ◽

Bart Vandecasteele ◽

Bart Ampe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Broiler Chickens ◽

Short Rotation Coppice ◽

Soil Parameters ◽

Free Range ◽

Short Rotation

Download Full-text

Morphological and physiological traits influencing biomass productivity in short-rotation coppice poplar

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x04-033 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 34 (7) ◽

pp. 1488-1498 ◽

Cited By ~ 86

Author(s):

A M Rae ◽

K M Robinson ◽

N R Street ◽

G Taylor

Keyword(s):

Biomass Yield ◽

Populus Deltoides ◽

Hybrid Poplar ◽

Biomass Productivity ◽

Biomass Energy ◽

Short Rotation Coppice ◽

High Yield ◽

Breeding Programs ◽

Basal Diameter ◽

Short Rotation

Fast-growing hybrid poplar (Populus spp.) have potential as a short-rotation coppice crop grown for biomass energy. This work identifies traits for fast growth studied in an American interspecific pedigree derived from Populus trichocarpa Torr. & A. Gray × Populus deltoides Marsh. grown in the United Kingdom for the first time. The biomass yield after the first coppice rotation was estimated to range from 0.04 to 23.68 oven-dried t·ha1·year1. This great range suggests that genotypes from this pedigree may be used to understand the genetic basis of high yield in short-rotation coppice, which would be advantageous for informing breeding programs for biomass crops. Relationships between stem, leaf, cell traits, and biomass yield were investigated. Partial least-squares analysis was used to order the traits by importance. The traits most influential on biomass were maximum stem height throughout the growing season, basal diameter, number of stems, and number of sylleptic branches, which showed high heritability, indicating excellent potential for breeding programs. The leaf traits, leaf area, number of leaves on the leading stem, and plastochron index were also associated with an increase in biomass, leading to a better understanding of this trait.

Download Full-text

Leaf-level productivity traits in Populus grown in short rotation coppice for biomass energy

Forestry An International Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1093/forestry/77.4.307 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 77 (4) ◽

pp. 307-323 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

S.M. Bunn

Keyword(s):

Biomass Energy ◽

Short Rotation Coppice ◽

Short Rotation ◽

Leaf Level

Download Full-text

The role of short rotation coppice technology in fuelwood supply in Rungwe district, Tanzania

International Journal of Agricultural Research Innovation and Technology ◽

10.3329/ijarit.v6i1.29211 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 41-46

Author(s):

GM Karwani ◽

LLL Lulandala ◽

A Kimaro ◽

ZP Msigwa

Keyword(s):

Land Tenure ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Local Community ◽

Persea Americana ◽

Biomass Energy ◽

Short Rotation Coppice ◽

African Countries ◽

Household Energy ◽

Social Surveys ◽

Short Rotation

The roles of Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) Technology in fuelwood supply and offsetting CO2 emissions in the Tanzania and most African countries remain poorly understood. This study was carried in Rungwe District, Mbeya region in Tanzania, to determine trends, extent and drivers of adoption of SRC; identify various sources of household energy and assess the contribution of SRC to the total household fuelwood needs, and trees and shrub species used as sources of fuelwood. Data were collected using reconnaissance, field and social surveys and was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results revealed that, 97.5% of local community adopted the SRC technology since 1960s. Eucalyptus spp. are mostly planted in woodlots and field boundaries while Persea americana and Leucaena leucocephala are intercropped in farmlands. The survey indicated that out of 176 tons of fuelwood used annually, 73% comes from SRC technology, 25% from non-SRC technology, and only 2% is purchased to supplement household fuelwood shortage. Local communities depend heavily on biomass energy from woodlots and farmlands where tree species like Eucalyptus spp. plays a key role in meeting the energy demand. This study demonstrates that SRC technologies like woodlots, boundary planting, and intercropping in farmland hold high promise to meet the household energy demand. If promoted and backed with strong policies and supportive land tenure, these technologies may reduce the harvesting pressure on native forests for energy demand and contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation.Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. & Tech. 6 (1): 41-46, June, 2016

Download Full-text

Economic Modelling of Poplar Short Rotation Coppice Plantations in Hungary

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12050623 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 623

Author(s):

Endre Schiberna ◽

Attila Borovics ◽

Attila Benke

Keyword(s):

Rotation Period ◽

Wood Chip ◽

Minimum Cost ◽

Short Rotation Coppice ◽

Economic Modelling ◽

Potential Yield ◽

Short Rotation ◽

Financial Characteristics ◽

Energy Plantations ◽

Break Even Point

No study has been previously completed on the range of sites, potential yield, and financial characteristics of poplar short rotation coppice plantations (SRC) in Hungary. This paper conducts a literature survey to reveal the biomass production potential of such plantations and presents a model that is used to analyze their financial performance. The results indicate that the break-even-point of production is between 6 and 8 oven-dry tons per hectare per year once a minimum cost level and wood chip price within a 10% range of the 2020 value are considered. The higher the wood chip price, the lower the break-even-point. Since the model excluded the administrative costs that depend on the type and size of the management organization, the break-even-points can be significantly higher in reality, which suggests that short rotation energy plantations can be a financially reasonable land-use option in above average or even superior poplar-growing sites. The rotation period of industrial poplar plantations that produce high quality veneer logs ranges from 12 to 25 years. Though such sites can provide higher returns on investment, short rotation plantations have the advantage of providing a more evenly distributed cash flow. To facilitate the wider application of poplar SRC, the related policies need to apply specific subsidies and allow the rotation cycle to be extended up to 20–25 years, which is currently limited to 15 years.

Download Full-text