Short Rotation Coppice as Habitat for Vascular Plants

Seifert, Charlotte; Leuschner, Christoph; Culmsee, Heike

doi:10.1002/9783527682973.ch6

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…This allows realizing substantial savings of material and costs in the production of particle boards, relieving pressure from natural forests wood supply of the timber industry, and it even has a high potential for carbon storage [9] or controlling soil erosion [10]. The first results of the D4EU project [11] confirmed earlier findings [12,13] that newly established SRP provide improved habitat and increased plant diversity on former agricultural farmlands. Gaps and small edge-like habitats can further improve the overall value of SRP in terms of biodiversity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 55%

“…Studies from colder climate regions suggest the separation of generalist and specialist hybrids [13,18,53]. While in colder and probably more humid regions, clones with P. maximowiczii parentage are generalists due to their cold tolerance, here the TM and NM groups were specialists for moist conditions.…”

Section: Performance Of Hybrid Poplar Clones On Different Sitesmentioning

confidence: 77%

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Comparison of the Initial Growth of Different Poplar Clones on Four Sites in Western Slovakia—Preliminary Results

et al. 2021

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This study was conducted to evaluate four hybrid poplar comparison tests along a groundwater availability gradient in Western Slovakia. The weather fluctuation during the 3-year study period was described with indices, such as the Forestry Aridity Index (FAI) or the hydrothermal coefficient (HTC). The soil chemical and physical parameters were determined from soil samples from the two upper horizons. The nutrient status and supply of the trees were categorized based on leaf elemental analysis. Altogether, 21 different clones from 6 genomic groups were compared. The survival (SRV), diameter at breast height (DBH), and height of the trees (H) had been measured annually since the plantations were established, and from these measurements, mean annual height increment (MAHI) values were derived. These weather, edaphic, and clonal factors were evaluated and compared. Significant effects of the site (edaphic factors) were found as the primary source of variance and clonal differences as secondary sources of variance among the growth of trees. The interaction of site × clone effects was not significant. The results showed that for short rotation forestry (SRF), the site parameters—especially groundwater availability—are key factors.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 55%

Section: Performance Of Hybrid Poplar Clones On Different Sitesmentioning

confidence: 77%

Comparison of the Initial Growth of Different Poplar Clones on Four Sites in Western Slovakia—Preliminary Results

et al. 2021

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“…Therefore, recently harvested (as well as recently established) SRC can provide a substitute habitat for common arable species that do not find suitable conditions on intensively used conventional arable fields anymore. However, SRC are not expected to have any potential to promote rare or threatened arable species, since the shading from trees and competition with the accompanying perennial herbaceous vegetation does not provide favorable conditions for highly specialized and low-competitive arable species [23,31,54,55]. In order to promote rare and threatened arable species, specific measures within arable fields are required [56,57], and SRC do not offer an alternative to these.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-Rotation Coppice Managed According to Ecological Guidelines—What Are the Benefits for Phytodiversity?

Zitzmann

Rode

2021

Forests

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In recent years, the impact of short-rotation coppice (SRC) on biodiversity has been a regular subject of research and ecological guidelines have been developed to make biomass cultivation on SRC more compatible with biodiversity concerns. However, since these guidelines are only implemented voluntarily by farmers, there are barely any SRC that are managed according to ecological guidelines. Consequently, knowledge about their importance for farmland biodiversity and about the impact of different measures for increasing biodiversity remains scarce. Therefore, three experimental SRC, which are managed according to ecological guidelines and thus include stands of different tree species (varieties of poplar (Populus) and willow (Salix), rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), silver birch (Betula pendula)) and different growth-stages within the same site, were investigated with regard to their importance as habitat for vascular plants. Species numbers and species composition were compared with the following habitat types: afforestations (AFO), young (HE-Y) and old hedges (HE-O), field margins (FM) and arable land (AL). Furthermore, different stand types (i.e., stands with different tree species and growth-stages, headlands, clearings) within these SRC were surveyed and compared. Species numbers of SRC were similar to HE-Y, AFO and FM and significantly higher than in AL and HE-O. The composition of plant communities in SRC differed considerably from the other farmland habitats, especially from AL, HE-O and FM. Within the SRC, most stand types had similar species numbers. Only the non-harvested poplar stands were particularly species-poor. Harvesting led to increased species numbers. This increase was significant for the poplar stands but only moderate for the willow stands. With regard to their species composition, the different stand types differed considerably in many cases. We conclude that SRC, which are managed according to ecological guidelines, can be an additional measure to promote phytodiversity in agricultural landscapes as they contain relatively high species numbers (of mainly common and adaptable species) and support distinct plant communities that differ from other farmland habitats. Therefore, measures such as the cultivation of different tree species or sectional harvesting could be offered as agri-environmental schemes to further increase the ecological sustainability of biomass production on SRC.

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“…In contrast, other studies observed that the degree of impact depended on landscape heterogeneity. Less heterogeneous landscapes (landscapes with 2-20% of semi-natural habitat to provide effective colonization) had greater benefits when bioenergy crops were introduced than complex landscapes that may have high biodiversity even in low-quality habitat [10,12,[14][15][16][17]. This dynamic is further complicated by the selected crop's associated attributes, the land management practices used, geographic and spatial components of the landscape, and the selected biodiversity indicator monitored [10,15,18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invertebrate and Plant Community Diversity of an Illinois Corn–Soybean Field with Integrated Shrub Willow Bioenergy Buffers

et al. 2021

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Perennial bioenergy crop production within intensively managed agricultural landscapes has the potential to improve the sustainability, resiliency, and diversity of these landscapes. Perennial crops are ideal because of their high production potential on marginal lands relative to grain crops (e.g., corn and soybean) and their ability to provide additional ecosystem service benefits. When agricultural landscapes are designed to target specific services, determining the non-targeted services of perennial bioenergy crops can further promote their adoption. This 3-year study addresses this proposition by evaluating the canopy invertebrates and understory plant (non-target crop) communities using bee bowls and point measurement of ground coverage, respectively, within a grain field integrated with shrub willow buffer systems designed for nutrient loss reduction. Greater plant diversity and richness were observed under willow than under grain, resembling that of the surrounding riparian community with more perennial, native species. However, the same relationship did not hold true for invertebrates, with seasonality having a significant influence resulting in similar communities observed in willow and grain plots. The presence of unique plant and invertebrate species in both willow and grain crops as well as foraging pollinators on both crop and non-target crop species highlights the importance of habitat heterogeneity for supporting biodiversity and the potential benefits of buffer bioenergy landscape designs.

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Short Rotation Coppice as Habitat for Vascular Plants

Cited by 8 publications

References 19 publications

Comparison of the Initial Growth of Different Poplar Clones on Four Sites in Western Slovakia—Preliminary Results

Comparison of the Initial Growth of Different Poplar Clones on Four Sites in Western Slovakia—Preliminary Results

Short-Rotation Coppice Managed According to Ecological Guidelines—What Are the Benefits for Phytodiversity?

Invertebrate and Plant Community Diversity of an Illinois Corn–Soybean Field with Integrated Shrub Willow Bioenergy Buffers

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