Potential Areas in Poland for Forestry Plantation

Plantations have many advantages when compared to natural or semi-natural forests, such as shortening production cycles, the production of wood with specific characteristics, and near-market production concentrations. The intensive development of this form of industrial wood production is practiced all over the world. The wood industry in Poland struggles in recent years, with a large shortage of wood. The deficit of wood has been accumulated for several years and is steadily increasing. One of the possibilities to change this trend can be development of fast-growing trees plantations. The main aim of this study was to determine the potential of land in Poland, which could be used for the cultivation of fast-growing trees plantations. The analyses took into account the area and marginal agricultural land. The potential plantation land areas were determined for poplar cultivar “Hybrid 275” and European larch (Larix decidua Mill.). The results show a possibility to generate a considerable area that can be developed into plantations of fast-growing trees in Poland. According to the analyses carried out for the purpose of this study, with only 5% use of the sown area and 5% use of forest lands, as well as the boscage (wooded land and bushy land), it is possible to obtain approximately 0.6 MM ha of land for fast-growing tree plantations. In the case of planting 50% of these lands with larch and 50% with poplar, and if a 50% capacity of the plantation is assumed, it will be possible to obtain nearly 6 MM m3 of wood per year.

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Where and when are plantations established? Land-use replacement patterns of fast-growing plantations on agricultural land

Biomass and Bioenergy ◽

10.1016/j.biombioe.2020.105921 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 144 ◽

pp. 105921

Author(s):

Xiaoqian Xu ◽

Blas Mola-Yudego

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Fast Growing

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Bird communities in a degraded forest biodiversity hotspot of East Africa

Biodiversity and Conservation ◽

10.1007/s10531-021-02190-y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Moses Mulwa ◽

Mike Teucher ◽

Werner Ulrich ◽

Jan Christian Habel

Keyword(s):

Tropical Forests ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Bird Species ◽

Bird Communities ◽

Natural Forest ◽

Tree Plantations ◽

Agricultural Fields ◽

Degraded Forest ◽

Forest Patches ◽

Small Forest

AbstractTropical forests suffer severe habitat destruction. Thus, tropical forests frequently consist today of only a few small remnants that are often embedded within a matrix of agricultural fields and tree plantations. Forest specialist species have experienced severe population declines under these circumstances. We studied bird communities based on census plots set up in a near-natural forest block, as well as degraded forest patches, tree plantations, and agricultural fields, across the Taita Hills in southern Kenya. We classified each bird species according its ecology and behavior. We quantified the land cover and landscape configuration around each census plot. Typical forest species were mainly observed in the near-natural forest block, and to a lower extent in degraded forest patches. Plantations were almost devoid of birds. Bird communities of small forest fragments were more similar to that of agricultural land than the near-natural forest block. Most frugivorous, insectivorous and nectarivorous birds occurred in forest habitats, while granivorous bird species dominated the bird communities of agricultural land. The surrounding landscape had a marginal impact on bird species composition at local sites. Our study showed that the preservation of near-natural cloud forest, including small forest patches, is essential for the conservation of forest-dependent species, and that plantations do not serve as surrogate habitats.

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Fast Preparation of High-Performance Wood Materials Assisted by Ultrasonic and Vacuum Impregnation

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12050567 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 567

Author(s):

Hong Yang ◽

Mingyu Gao ◽

Jinxin Wang ◽

Hongbo Mu ◽

Dawei Qi

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

High Performance ◽

Mechanical Tests ◽

Vacuum Impregnation ◽

Natural Forests ◽

Ultrasonic Pretreatment ◽

Fast Growing ◽

Before And After ◽

New Material ◽

Ft Ir

In the absence of high-quality hardwood timber resources, we have gradually turned our attention from natural forests to planted fast-growing forests. However, fast-growing tree timber in general has defects such as low wood density, loose texture, and poor mechanical properties. Therefore, improving the performance of wood through efficient and rapid technological processes and increasing the utilization of inferior wood is a good way to extend the use of wood. Densification of wood increases the strength of low-density wood and extends the range of applications for wood and wood-derived products. In this paper, the effects of ultrasonic and vacuum pretreatment on the properties of high-performance wood were explored by combining sonication, vacuum impregnation, chemical softening, and thermomechanical treatments to densify the wood; then, the changes in the chemical composition, microstructure, and mechanical properties of poplar wood before and after treatment were analyzed comparatively by FT-IR, XRD, SEM, and mechanical tests. The results showed that with ultrasonic pretreatment and vacuum impregnation, the compression ratio of high-performance wood reached its highest level and the MOR and MOE reached their maximums. With the help of this method, fast-growing softwoods can be easily prepared into dense wood materials, and it is hoped that this new material can be applied in the fields of construction, aviation, and automobile manufacturing.

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Restoration of floral diversity through plantations on abandoned agricultural land

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x06-021 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 36 (5) ◽

pp. 1218-1235 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Steven G Newmaster ◽

F Wayne Bell ◽

Christopher R Roosenboom ◽

Heather A Cole ◽

William D Towill

Keyword(s):

Plant Diversity ◽

Tree Species ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Structural Diversity ◽

Geographic Region ◽

Natural Forests ◽

Community Interactions ◽

Long Term Study ◽

Floral Diversity ◽

The Impact

Plantations have been claimed to be "monocultures", or "biological deserts". We investigated these claims in the context of a long-term study on plant diversity within plantations with different indigenous tree species, spacings, and soil types that were compared with 410 native stands. Soil type had no influence on plantation species diversity or abundance, and wider spacing resulted in higher richness, lower woody plant abundance, slightly higher cover of herbaceous plants, and large increases in cryptogam cover. We also found a canopy species × spacing interaction effect, where the impact of increased spacing on understory vegetation was more pronounced in spruce than in pine plantations. The dynamic community interactions among species of feathermoss appear to be in response to the physical impediment from varying amounts of needle rain from the different tree species. High light interception and needle fall were negatively correlated with understory plant diversity, as was lack of structural diversity. This study indicates that through afforestation efforts agricultural lands can be restored to productive forests that can harbour nearly one-half of the plant species found in equivalent natural forests within the same geographic region in as little as 50 years. We recommend applying afforestation using indigenous conifer species as a first step towards rehabilitating conifer forests that have been converted to agriculture and subsequently abandoned.

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A Robust Productivity Model for Grapple Yarding in Fast-Growing Tree Plantations

Forests ◽

10.3390/f8100396 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (10) ◽

pp. 396 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Riaan Engelbrecht ◽

Andrew McEwan ◽

Raffaele Spinelli

Keyword(s):

Tree Plantations ◽

Fast Growing

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Managing forest and marginal agricultural land for multiple tradeoffs: compromising on economic, carbon and structural diversity objectives

Ecological Modelling ◽

10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2004.12.014 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 185 (2-4) ◽

pp. 451-468 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

Emina Krcmar ◽

G. Cornelis van Kooten ◽

Ilan Vertinsky

Keyword(s):

Agricultural Land ◽

Structural Diversity ◽

Marginal Agricultural Land

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A Review of Industrial Crop Yield Performances on Unfavorable Soil Types

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11122382 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (12) ◽

pp. 2382

Author(s):

Jana Reinhardt ◽

Pia Hilgert ◽

Moritz Von Cossel

Keyword(s):

Agricultural Land ◽

Field Trials ◽

Yield Potential ◽

Soil Types ◽

Potential Yield ◽

Indirect Land Use Change ◽

Industrial Crop ◽

Large Yield ◽

Marginal Agricultural Land ◽

The Impact

Industrial crop cultivation on marginal agricultural land limits indirect land-use change effects that pose a threat to food security. This review compiles results from 91 published crop-specific field trial datasets spanning 12 relevant industrial crops and discusses their suitability for cultivation on unfavorable soil types (USTs). It was shown that the perennial species Miscanthus (Miscanthus Andersson) and reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) performed well on USTs with both high clay and/or high sand contents. Information on stoniness (particles sizes > 2 mm), where mentioned, was limited. It was found to have only a small impact on biological yield potential, though it was not possible to assess the impact on mechanization as would be used at a commercial scale. For soils with extreme clay or sand contents, half of the crops showed moderate suitability. The large yield variations within and between crops revealed large knowledge gaps in the combined effects of crop type and agronomy on USTs. Therefore, more field trials are needed on diverse USTs in different climates with better equipment and more consistent measurements to improve the accuracy of potential yield predictions spatially and temporally. Additionally, larger trials are needed to optimize cultivation and harvesting.

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