CHANGES IN YIELD AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THREE-YEAR-OLD SHORT-ROTATION PLANTATIONS OF Dipteryx panamensis IN COSTA RICA

Abstract

Research and implementation of energy crops using short-rotation woody species (SRWC) are increasing in Latin America, especially for biomass production and use in bioenergy. For this purpose, one of the main factors to consider is species assessment. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the growth characteristics, the production and distribution of biomass, and the chemical, physical, and energetic properties of the biomass of three-year-old Dipteryx panamensis plantations in SRWC in three different spacings (1.0x2.0 m, 1.0x0.5 m and 1.0x1.0 m) and establish the best spacing condition for this tropical species. The results showed that the production of biomass varies between 1.1 and 42.36 t.ha-1, and that 33-44% of the production are concentrated in the leaves. At three years, the SRWC presented 50% mortality, with a diameter of 4.8 cm at 30 cm-height from the ground, with total tree heights ranging from 5.17 to 6.98 meters. The evaluation of the biomass showed a calorific value between 18.9 and 19.4 MJ/kg, less than 1.81% of ash content and 86% of volatile content. As for the effect of the spacing, the green density of the wood and the moisture content increased with increasing spacing, while spacings of 1.0x1.0 m and 1.0x0.5 m showed the best behaviour regarding annual biomass production.

Energy production and its characteristics from four tropical trees species planted in short rotation woody systems in Costa Rica

“…Firstly, there was a tendency to decrease the SG with increasing spacing, from S1 to S4. This result agreed with other studies of these species (Tenorio et al 2016(Tenorio et al , 2018Gaitan-Alvarez et al 2020), where SG decreased with spacing.…”

“…In other species tested in SRC, such as Dipteryx panamensis, the chemical, physical, and energy properties of the biomass were evaluated at three different spacings (1.0x2.0 m, 1.0x0.5 m, and 1.0x1.0 m) at the age of 3 years (Gaitan-Alvarez et al 2020). Increasing the spacing increased the plant's green density and moisture content, and 1.0x1.0 m and 1.0x0.5 m spacings were found to produce the highest biomass (Gaitan-Alvarez et al 2020).…”

“…In other species tested in SRC, such as Dipteryx panamensis, the chemical, physical, and energy properties of the biomass were evaluated at three different spacings (1.0x2.0 m, 1.0x0.5 m, and 1.0x1.0 m) at the age of 3 years (Gaitan-Alvarez et al 2020). Increasing the spacing increased the plant's green density and moisture content, and 1.0x1.0 m and 1.0x0.5 m spacings were found to produce the highest biomass (Gaitan-Alvarez et al 2020). The other two species, Tectona grandis and Cordia alliodora have been used in fast-growing plantations for commercial reforestation in Costa Rica for sawlog production (Moya et al 2019); therefore, information on the processes and properties of these species is abundant and known (Moya et al 2019).…”

Effects of planting spacing on chemical, physical and energetic properties of biomass accumulation in a plantation of Eucalyptus tereticornis Sm

“…Studies developed by Jiménez et al ( 2018) have shown that planting density affects HDEP productivity due to the degree of competition in the plantation, which affects mortality. Moya et al (2019) and Gaitán-Alvarez et al (2020) found that biomass distribution depends on planting density; the biomass of branches and stem tends to decrease as the planting density increases. For their part, Tenorio et al (2019) determined that increases in planting density generate increases in wood density, specific weight, caloric power and percentage of ash.…”