The Value of Hybrid Aspen Coppice Investment under Different Discount Rate, Price and Management Scenarios: A Case Study of Estonia

Hepner, Heiki; Lukason, Oliver; Lutter, Reimo; Padari, Allar; Tullus, Arvo; Tullus, Hardi

doi:10.3390/f12101332

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The second type of climate benefit, related to avoided emissions through substitution of fossil-based resources, is not straightforward and sometimes difficult to quantify, and thus involves many uncertainties. This climate benefit arises outside the property boundary and is linked to different products, and its value is indirectly reflected in the price volatility of the raw material (e.g., pulpwood price is low and then it goes to energy-wood, which lowers the climate benefit of birch, aspen and poplar) [69]. We have chosen to base substitution factors on data from the literature [64] and assessed them as reasonable, but we also acknowledge that the uncertainty increases over time in the scenario analysis that has been performed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Benefit of Different Tree Species on Former Agricultural Land in Northern Europe

Lutter

Stål

Ceder

et al. 2021

Forests

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The new European Union Forest Strategy for 2030 aims to plant an additional 3 billion trees on non-forest land to mitigate climate change. However, the choice of tree species for afforestation to achieve the maximum climate benefit is unclear. We compared the climate benefit of six different species in terms of carbon (C) sequestration in biomass and the harvested wood substitution in products to avoid carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil-based materials over the 100-year period by afforesting about ¼ of the available area in northern Europe. The highest climate benefit was observed for larch, both at a stand scale (1626 Mg CO2 eqv. ha−1) and at the landscape level for the studied scenario (579 million Mg CO2 eqv.). Larch was followed by Norway spruce, poplar, hybrid aspen and birch, showing a climate benefit about 40–50% lower than that for larch. The climate benefit of willow was about 70% lower than larch. Willow showed 6–14-fold lower C stocks at the landscape level after 100 years than other tree species. The major climate benefit over the 100-year period comes from wood substitution and avoided emissions, but C stock buildup at the landscape level also removes significant amounts of CO2 already present in the atmosphere. The choice of tree species is important to maximize climate change mitigation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Benefit of Different Tree Species on Former Agricultural Land in Northern Europe

Lutter

Stål

Ceder

et al. 2021

Forests

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“…Populus and Salix plants can also tolerate relatively low nutrient levels, unbalanced pH levels, and increased salt levels in soil (Mosseler et al 2014b(Mosseler et al , 2014cCastaño-Díaz et al 2017). Their use offers both environmental and economic benefits, including improvement of soil quality, ecosystem restoration, and sustainable bioenergy production (Volk et al 2004;Christersson 2011;González-García et al 2012;Isebrands et al 2014;Gkorezis et al 2016;Asad et al 2017;Ziegler-Devin et al 2019;Hepner et al 2021;Eadha 2022;Kaivapalu et al 2023). For example, in Finland, it has been estimated that Salix biochar production from all marginal lands could offset 7.7% of yearly agricultural greenhouse gas emissions (Leppäkoski et al 2021).…”

Section: Joensuu January 2024mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of survival, growth, and phytoremediation potential of Populus and Salix seedlings grown in polluted soils

Salam

2024

Diss. For.

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The aim of this thesis was to evaluate the survival, growth, and phytoremediation potential of Populus and Salix seedlings grown in polluted soils. More specifically, the following topics were studied: (1) the survival and growth of two European aspen clones and four hybrid aspen clones grown in control soil (pristine), old creosote soil polluted with hydrocarbons, and pristine soil spiked with fresh diesel oil at three different planting densities in a greenhouse over two growing seasons (Article I); (2) the survival, growth, and hydrocarbon removal of three European aspen clones and seven hybrid aspen clones grown in hydrocarbon-contaminated soil (including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs)) under field conditions over 4 years (Article II); and (3) the growth and metal accumulation ability of Salix psammophila seedlings with bamboo biochar (BBC) amendment at ratios of 0–7% in soils heavily contaminated by Cd and Zn in a pot experiment over 180 days (Article III). In study I (Article I), the survival rates of European aspen and hybrid aspen clone seedlings were 70–100% in control soil, 99% in the old creosote-contaminated soil, and 22–59% in the diesel-contaminated soil across all planting densities. The heights of aspen seedlings were 5–44% and 9–38% lower and the stem dry biomass was 9–93% and 34–63% lower in diesel-contaminated and creosote-contaminated soils, respectively, compared to the control. Low plant density increased survival rates and growth compared to higher density treatments. Of all the clones, hybrid aspen clones 14 and 291 and European aspen clone R3 showed reasonable survival and growth across all treatments. Soil treatment, planting density, and clone type significantly affected survival rate, height, and stem dry biomass (p < 0.05). In study II (Article II), the highest survival rates in old creosote-contaminated soils were in clone 291 (72%) among hybrid aspen clones and clone R3 (70%) among European aspen clones. Hybrid aspen clones 14 and 34 had 16–211% greater heights than other hybrid aspen clones. The height of European aspen clone R3 was also 25‒35% greater than that of other European aspen clones. However, clone type did not significantly affect seedling survival or height (p > 0.05). Among hybrid aspen clones, clone 134 had the largest hydrocarbon removal at a depth of 5–10 cm and clone 191 at a depth of 10–50 cm. Clone 14 also showed potential for removing hydrocarbons at both soil depths. In European aspen clones, clone R2 had the highest hydrocarbon removal at both soil depths. However, all clones showed an ability to remove total PAHs and TPHs from the soil (but p < 0.05 only at a soil depth of 5–10 cm). The reduction in hydrocarbon levels in the soil was more prominent at a soil depth of 5–10 cm than at a depth of 10–50 cm. Based on studies I and II, European aspen and hybrid aspen clones can be considered candidates for the remediation of soils polluted with PAHs and TPHs. In study III (Article III), BBC ratios of 1% and 5% resulted in only slight decreases in characteristics, especially height (0.6‒1.3%) but also total dry biomass (2‒10%), of S. psammophila seedlings compared to the control, whereas BBC 3% increased these measurements slightly (2% increase). BBC 7% reduced the height (16%) and total dry biomass (26%) of seedlings compared to the control. BBC amendment increased the accumulation of Cu, Cd, and Zn in different plant tissues, especially Cd and Zn accumulation (23‒30% and 13‒24%, respectively), in the BBC 3% treatment compared to the control. Based on these findings, S. psammophila with BBC amendment can be considered a candidate for phytoremediation. However, metal accumulation in the roots, stems, and leaves was not significantly affected by the BBC 1‒7% treatments (p > 0.05), except for Pb accumulation in the roots and Cu accumulation in the stem (p < 0.05). Overall, hybrid aspen, European aspen, and S. psammophila seedlings showed reasonable survival and growth, photosynthetic activity, efficient hydrocarbon removal from soil and metal accumulation ability both under greenhouse conditions and in a field experiment. Therefore, these species could be used to depollute areas affected by a range of hydrocarbons or Cd and Zn. However, future research should be conducted in the field to verify the abilities of hybrid and European aspens and S. psammophila to remediate soil contaminated by hydrocarbons, Cd, or Zn, and such studies should also use different planting densities and soil amendments over longer periods.

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Ecosystem Carbon and Nutrient Balances in Short-Rotation Hybrid Aspen Coppice Under Different Thinning Methods

Lutter,

Hepner,

Tullus

et al. 2024

Bioenerg. Res.

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Coppice plantations have gained a high interest for biofuel production and carbon uptake in short rotation cycles. There is a limited knowledge how such intensive coppice management affects soil fertility and nutrients supply to maintain carbon sink. We studied ecosystem carbon and nutrients balance and allocation during a 5-year period in hybrid aspen coppice under different thinning methods in hemiboreal Estonia. The benchmark value for the changes was defined before the coppice emerged after the clear-cut of the previously planted hybrid aspen plantation. The studied systematical thinning treatments were as follows: corridor thinning with removal of 67% of the trees (CT), cross-corridor thinning with removal of 89% of the trees (CCT), and unthinned (UT) coppice. The UT and CT treatments resulted in a positive carbon balance at the ecosystem level. In all treatments, a decrease of soil acidity, organic C, total N, K, Mg and Mn contents, and an increase of soil Cu and B contents were observed in the 0–20-cm deep layer. The concentrations of leaf N, P, and K were higher in UT than in the two thinning treatments, indicating that the aspens had not entirely recovered from the changed root to shoot ratio 2 years after thinning, whereas the leaf mass fraction of medium- and small-sized trees had already increased. Bioenergy harvest from the UT site in a 5-year rotation would cause 5–18% removal of NPK from the total ecosystem pool. Overall, hybrid aspen coppice showed positive ecosystem carbon balance after the first 5-year period; however, further monitoring of soil properties is needed as we found decrease of soil organic C and nutrients concentrations in short term. Graphical Abstract

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The Value of Hybrid Aspen Coppice Investment under Different Discount Rate, Price and Management Scenarios: A Case Study of Estonia

Cited by 3 publications

References 35 publications

Climate Benefit of Different Tree Species on Former Agricultural Land in Northern Europe

Climate Benefit of Different Tree Species on Former Agricultural Land in Northern Europe

Evaluation of survival, growth, and phytoremediation potential of Populus and Salix seedlings grown in polluted soils

Ecosystem Carbon and Nutrient Balances in Short-Rotation Hybrid Aspen Coppice Under Different Thinning Methods

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