The influence of nitrogen fertilizers on the productivity of energy biomass of willow

Purpose. Determine the optimal rate of nitrogen fertilizers for fertilizing energy plantations of willow before the start of the second three-year cultivation cycle in the Central Forest-Steppe of Ukraine. Research methods. Field, analytical, statistical. Results and discussion. Appling of ammonium nitrate contributed to the active beginning of the growing season and the increase in the plant mass in hight. At the end of the first year of vegetation, the tallest plants were formed in variety ‘Tora’ using N70 – 4.67 m, which is more than in the control version (without fertilizer) by 0.71 m, or 16%. For N35, the average plant height was 4.32 m, which is 8% more than the control. The formation of more tall plants to restore more nitrogen was found in the variety’Ternopilska’. Hight of annual plant of this variety in control was 3.68 m, for application N35 – 4.08 m, and for dose N70 – 4.24 m. At the end of the second growing cycle, the average height of plants of the variety ‘Tora’ in control variant was 6.29 m. The highest plants with the distribution of ammonium nitrate in the maximum dose (N70) were 6.78 m, which is more than in control variant by 8%. For the application of N35, the height of plants of the plantation was 6.52 m and 5.79 m. In this case, the decrease in the share affects the height of plants up to 15.4%, and the share affects the varietal characteristics of growth up to 82.9%. Also nitrogen had a positive effect on biomass growth. The yield of dry biomass of three-year-old energy willow plantation in the other part of cyclic production under control (without fertilizers) was 65.3 t/ha (21.8 t/ ha/year) of dry biomass in ‘Tora’ variety, and 55.6 t/ha (18.5 t/ha/year) in ‘Ternopilska’ variety. In the variants with the use of ammonium nitrate in the dose of N35, the indicator increased due to the control in variety ’Tora’ by 2.8 t/ha and by 3.7 t/ha in the variety ’Ternopilska’. Increasing the nitrogen dose to N70 increases the yield of dry biomass in the varieties’Tora’ and ’Ternopilska’ by 8.8 t/ha and 9.3 t/ha, respectively, compared to the control. Conclusions. The application of ammonium nitrate and varietal characteristics have a significant impact on the yield of energy biomass of willow. Of the two studied varieties of willow on chernozem soil of the Central Forest-Steppe of Ukraine, the variety’Tora’ was noted for more intensive growth and higher productivity during the second three-year growing cycle. Plants of both varieties are characterized by higher yields for nitrogen application at a dose of 70 kg/ha a.i.

Agrobiological foundations for growing woody energy crops on drained organogenic soils

The purpose of the work was to identify the most effective agrobiological measures of plantation cultivation of wood energy crops – various types of willow on drained organogenic soils of Forest-steppe and Polesie, to develop technologies for their cultivation and to carry out energy, economic and environmental assessments of their cultivation on land extracted from intensive cultivation. Research methods – field with a complex of biometric, agrochemical and laboratory studies, mathematical and statistical.The results of studies conducted on medium-deep drained old-time carbonate peatland are presented. Data on agroecological assessment of soil and climatic conditions of agricultural lands were obtained to create energy plantations in the area of excess moisture, agrochemical and water-physical properties and features of the water-air regime of organogenic soils were investigated. As a result of the analysis, the data found that they fully meet the requirements of growing high-performance energy crops.It has been established that the most effective way of basic soil processing is to plant willows in ploughed furrows with an area of food of 0,9 x0,7 m and harvest every two to three years. The most productive on average in five years was willow three-song – 27,1-28,0 t per hectare and willow rod – 23,2 and 31,7 t per hectare of dry mass in Forest Steppe and Polissya, 28,2 and 21,2 t per hectare, respectively. According to economic indicators, the highest conditional net profit (21,1 thousand UAH per hectare) and the level of profitability (305%) provided willow rod on the scheme of planting 0,9 x 0,7 m and cleaning in the form of chips every three years.

Economic Modelling of Poplar Short Rotation Coppice Plantations in Hungary

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.

Growth of willow energy plantations on the marginal lands of the Kyiv Polissia

Purpose. Investigation of the features of growth, development and productivity of energy willow varieties on peat-bog and alluvial sandy soils in the floodplains of the Kyiv Polissia rivers. Methods. Field, laboratory, analytical, and statistical. Results. It is advisable to use the variety ‘Zbruch’, to create willow energy plantations on the peat-swampy soils of the Kyiv Polissia. It is characterized by the highest yield of three-year biomass (9.84 t/ha), while in the ‘Ternopil’ cultivar the maximum was 3.29 t/ha and in the Salix triandra clone 2.68 t/ha. On alluvial sandy soil, the highest average height (194 ± 6.6 cm), with a productivity of two-year biomass of 3.15 t/ha had Swedish variety ‘Tordis’. In addition, relatively high productivity have Polish varietyes ‘082’ and ‘1047’ and the domestic variety ‘Ternopil’. The productivity of the latter after two years of growth on the sandy soil is 1.53–6.41 t/ha, and after three years on the peat soil only 1.74–3.29 t/ha. To increase the productivity of energy plantations of willow on fresh alluvial sandy soils, it is advisable to apply organic and mineral fertilizers, and on peat soils to apply deep plowing, to conduct proper control over the number of weeds, to use the density of planting cuttings about 20 000 plants ha and a 4-year biomass harvest cycle. Conclusions. It is established that in alluvial soils of floodplains of Kyiv Polissia rivers, fresh alluvial soils are more suitable for growing willow energy plantations than rich on organic substances moist peat-bog soils. ‘Tordis’, ‘082’, ‘1047’ and ‘Ternopil’ varieties are promising for growing on the sandy soils of the study area, and ‘Zbruch’ for peat soils. Considering the low fertility of the studied variants of marginal lands, in order to increase the efficiency of cultivation of energy biomass of willow on them, first of all, it is necessary to improve the water-physical properties of soils.

Pavlovnia - highly productive culture for the production of biofuels and wood

Purpose. Creating Ukraine’s own feedstock base for the development of the biofuel industry through the use of energy-efficient technologies for growing high-yielding bioenergy crops on special energy plantations, which, along with high biomass growth for biofuel production, actively absorb carbon dioxide and emit significant amounts of oxygen. Research methods. Field, accounting, statistical, analytical. Results. Energy plantations of wood crops, which in a short term gives an opportunity to obtain a variety of high quality wood products. This line of business is new, which has already proven itself in world practice as one of the most profitable and reliable ways of investment. This process occurs most intensively in highly productive bioenergy crops of group C4, such as: paulownia, sugar sorghum, corn and sugar beets. As a rule, the invested funds are repaid for 3−5 years from the beginning of planting the energy plantation. For plantations with a short growing season, mostly fast-growing trees are used, which allows to reduce the growing season of trees from 10−20 to 3−5 years. This type of wood from specially created energy plantations can be used as a business and to process part of the raw material from waste, which is about 50% in the form of twigs, for fuel chips. Conclusions. The expediency of growing highly productive bioenergy crop of paulownia in different soil and climatic zones of the country in order to produce feedstock for the construction industry and biofuel production is substantiated. Ukraine has all the necessary prerequisites for this.

Assessment of carbon dioxide removal potential via BECCS in a carbon-neutral Europe

The European technical potential for biogenic carbon dioxide removal is assessed considering seven different BECCS configurations that do not require purpose-grown bio-energy plantations.

Dependence of Weed Composition on Cultivated Plant Species and Varieties in Energy-Tree and -Grass Plantations

Energy plantations create new habitats in agricultural landscapes with species compositions different from those in forests or farmlands. The purpose of our nine-year research project (2010–2018) was to evaluate the dependence of weed-species richness and their selected ecological aspects on stands of energy-plant species, and varieties in energy-tree and -grass plantations in conditions of Central Europe, on the basis of a case study. The permanent research plots were established in plantations containing two varieties of willow (Tordis and Inger), one poplar variety (Pegaso), and one clone of Miscanthus × giganteus. This evaluation included the species composition of understory flora, habitat preferences of different species, life cycle, life forms, ecological demands, and the harmfulness of these weed-species. The ground flora of energy plantations is predominantly composed of synanthropic plants of a weedy character with differences in species composition among different energy-tree and -grass species and varieties. The total number of vascular plant species was 98. The highest number of species (58) was recorded in the Tordis and Inger willow varieties, and the lowest was observed in the Pegaso poplar variety (45). Perennial species prevailed by their share, 10 of which were found in all four research plots. Therophytes and hemicryptophytes prevailed. Most species have high light requirements and are typical for mild-to-warm suboceanic areas, demanding freshly moist alkalic soils that are medium-to-rich in mineral nitrogen. Fifty percent of all observed species are considered weeds in Slovakia. The “very dangerous” category represented 46.94% of weeds, the “less dangerous” category 51.02%, and the “nondangerous” category represented 2.04% out of 49 species. The biggest share of “very dangerous weeds” was found in the poplar stand (38.78%), less in willow (32.65% and 28.57%), and the least in miscanthus stands (26.53%). The weeds of the Tordis variety were relatively poorly influenced by specific environmental conditions, and the weeds of the Inger variety were mainly defined by the soil reaction. Weeds in the undergrowth of both Miscanthus × giganteus and poplar trees (Pegaso) had the greatest affinity to mineral nitrogen content and temperature requirements.

Phytochemical Research and Antimicrobial Properties of Lipophylic Extracts of Some Species of Salix L. Genus from Ukraine

Background: Willows are indispensable for the creation of anti-erosion plantations, preliminary soil-improving crops in the reclamation of disturbed lands, as well as for energy plantations designed to produce the biomass suitable for biofuels. In the process of care and thinning of these plantations, there are a huge amount of waste remains - young willow branches and leaves, which would be advisable to use in medical and pharmaceutical practice to create new supplements and medicines. They are known to possess antimicrobial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. Objective: The aim of the current paper is to determine the chemical composition of lipophylic extracts of some species of Salix L. genus and to study their antimicrobial properties. Methods: The lipophylic extracts from Salix cinerea L., S. incana Schrank, S. cаprea L., S. sachalinensis F. Schmidt, S. acutifolia L., S. fragilis L., S. caspica Pall., S. rosmarinifolia L. and S. myrsinifolia Salisb. fresh shoots were obtained using chloroform in the Soxhlet apparatus. The composition of volatile components and carboxylic acids was determined using quantitative content of chlorophylls and carotenoids was measured spectrophotometrically. The antibacterial activity was studied by the agar diffusion method. Results: The methods used allowed identifying 46 volatile compounds in the lipophylic extracts from the shoots of the plants of Salix L. genus, where eugenol and squalene dominated; as well as 42 organic acids, among which benzoic, methoxybenzoic, salicylic acids prevailed, and palmitic, linoleic and linolenic acids were found to prevail among fatty acids. All lipophylic extracts studied showed antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis and Candida albicans. Conclusion: The results obtained indicate the possibility of the creation of a novel antimicrobial agent using the lipophylic extracts from the shoots of Salix L. genus rich in different biologically active substances.

Assessment of the socio-economic factors affecting the development of willow energy plantations in Lithuania

The study was designed to determine whether cultivation of willow (Salix sp.) energy plantations (WEP) is cost-efficient and to identify the main factors that influence development of such plantations in Lithuania. The economic efficiency of the cultivation of WEP was estimated based on cash flow analysis, discounted cash flow net present value and decomposition analysis methods. The survey of the willow plantation growers identified the motives, incentives, problems and intentions of local willow growers. The study revealed that cultivation of WEP was mostly hindered by economic factors, including low selling price of willow biomass for fuel and high cost of harvesting. Willow cultivation in Lithuania was least hindered by social and ecological factors. The results suggest that European Union (EU) subsidies are currently the main incentive to cultivate willow plantations. However, financial support alone did not guarantee the success of willow biomass harvesting and market access of the final biofuel production. The findings of this study provide information for decision makers on the opportunities and challenges of the development of willow plantations in Lithuania. Keywords: Salix sp., short-rotation plantations, social and economic factors, economic incentives.

A Substantiation of the Main Technical-Economic Characteristics of Energy Plantations and Production of Solid Fuel from Biomass of Energy Crops

The article is aimed at substantiating the basic technical-economic characteristics of energy plantations of miscanthus and production of solid fuels from the obtained biomass on the example of a particular project. As a result of the study: the analysis of the production volume of solid biofuels on the basis of quantities from a given area of plantation was carried out; net income of the complex was determined, which was calculated on the basis of accepted production volumes and «reasonable» wholesale prices, which were determined in a costly manner and provided for the provision of a sufficient level of profitability of economic activity; the current (operational) costs of economic activity of the complex were determined, calculated according to the standards established by analogues of industrial production of biomass from energy crops and its processing into solid biofuels. Also the economic feasibility of implementing an investment project on laying the plantation of miscanthus and production of solid biofuels from the resulting biomass was assessed. In general, in the presence of adequate State-based stimulation of solid biofuel production from miscanthus biomass, the economic efficiency of the project will be high, and the project itself is commercially feasible. Prospects for further research in this direction are substantiation of the main technical-economic characteristics together with feasibility of creating complexes for the transformation of solid biofuels into commodity energy – both electric and thermal.