Ecosystem Services of Woody Crop Production Systems

Abstract

Short-rotation woody crops are an integral component of regional and national energy portfolios, as well as providing essential ecosystem services such as biomass supplies, carbon sinks, clean water, and healthy soils. We review recent USDA Forest Service Research and Development efforts from the USDA Biomass Research Centers on the provisioning of these ecosystem services from woody crop production systems. For biomass, we highlight productivity and yield potential, pest susceptibility, and bioenergy siting applications. We describe carbon storage in aboveground woody biomass and studies assessing the provision of clean and plentiful water. Soil protection and wildlife habitat are also mentioned, in the context of converting lands from traditional row-crop agriculture to woody production systems.

Impact of Trucking Network Flow on Preferred Biorefinery Locations in the Southern United States

“…. BioSAT provides geo-spatially implicit information on economic biomass quantity (Zalesny et al 2016).…”

Environmental Technologies of Woody Crop Production Systems

“…Much of the biomass research conducted in the Maximum Yield Work Unit of the Lake States Forest Experiment Station's Northern Institute of Forest Genetics in Rhinelander, WI (45.64°N, 89.47°W) (Fig. 1) during the 1970s and 1980s focused on feedstock production for energy and fiber, with an emphasis on developing and refining silvicultural systems for productive and sustainable plantations [6,16]. Genetics, physiology, and vegetation management were at the forefront of research priorities.…”

“…Second, at the former City of Rhinelander Landfill, 15.5-year-old trees belonging to clones 'NM6' and 'DN34' (P. deltoides × P. nigra) were harvested during July 2015 to assess the same allometric and physiological traits detailed for the biomass ecosystem services network described in Fig. 2 of Zalesny et al [6]. In addition, long-term phytoremediation effectiveness is being assessed via testing of salts and heavy metals in tree tissues and soils.…”

“…In particular, poplars (Populus species and their hybrids) and willows (Salix species and their hybrids) have been used successfully in a variety of situations where the primary aims are environmental quality and protection rather than biomass production [3][4][5]. Most of the poplar and willow genomic groups in Table 2 of Zalesny et al [6] have been used for phytoremediation and associated environmental technologies. For Populus, the primary species used include the following: eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides Bartr.…”

Phytoremediation Efficacy of Salix discolor and S. eriocephela on Adjacent Acidic Clay and Shale Overburden on a Former Mine Site: Growth, Soil, and Foliage Traits

“…as a source of biomass for energy purposes [1][2][3][4][5]. More recently, there has also been a growing interest in using willows for various environmental applications and land reclamation, including phytoremediation and phytoextraction of contaminated soils [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17].…”