Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-jbqgn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-30T13:51:38.959Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Some aspects of the development of short-rotation coppice willow for biomass in Northern Ireland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2011

Malcolm Dawson
Malcolm Dawson
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, Horticultural & Plant Breeding Station, Loughgall, Co. Armagh BT61 8JB, N. Ireland, U.K.
Get access

Synopsis

Work on short-rotation coppice willow as an alternative and renewable energy source began in Northern Ireland in the mid-1970s, prompted by the massive rise in oil prices during that period. Although in the short run oil prices have dropped in real terms, interest in short-rotation coppice willow has ben sustained because of the potential role it has in the development of agriculture, particularly in marginal areas. This is particularly relevant in the current situation of over production of a wide range of agricultural commodities within the European Community and the moves to reduce Government support in the form of farm and export subsidies.

Although Salix cultivars have yielded in excess of 30 tonnes dry matter (DM) ha−1 annually under experimental conditions, it is considered that 10–12 tonnes DM ha−1 is a sustainable commercial yield.

Melampsora spp. rust has emerged as one of the most important factors limiting the development of short-rotation coppice as a commercial crop. For economic and environmental reasons, the application of fungicide for rust control is not a possibility. Consequently, other disease control strategies have to be established. The main focus of this work is in the selection, for suitability for coppice application, of the widening range of genetic material becoming available from breeding programmes in Canada, Sweden and Finland with a view to their incorporation into mixed stands.

End product utilisation is considered a priority area for investigation if short-rotation coppice is to make a contribution to land use and the development of agriculture in marginal areas. Currently two potential end uses are being investigated: firstly fractionation – to produce cellulose for paper manufacture, hemi-cellulose for the production of molasses and lignin for further processing into other industrial chemicals, and secondly the simultaneous generation of heat and power using gasification – ‘combined heat and power’.

Type
Invited papers
Information
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B: Biological Sciences , Volume 98: Willow , 1992 , pp. 193 - 205
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1992

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aarnio, V. A. 1987. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Research Notes 41, 35–9.Google Scholar
Anon. 1983. Annual Report Horticultural Centre, Loughgall, 91–5.Google Scholar
Anon. 1984. Iotech Biomass Review. Occasional Paper. Montreal: Iotech.Google Scholar
Anon. 1989. International Energy Agency Newsletter 1, 1.Google Scholar
Cannell, M. G. R. 1988. The scientific background. In Biomass Forestry in Europe: a strategy for the future, pp. 83–140, eds. Hummel, F., Palz, W. & Grassi, G. Amsterdam: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Carter, M. 1990. The positive application of set-aside. Proceedings of the Oxford Farming Conference 1990 (in press).Google Scholar
Dawson, W. M. 1987. Visit to R & D sites in Southern Sweden, Internal DANI Report.Google Scholar
Dawson, W. M. 1988. Bulletin of Finnish Forest Research Institute 304, 91–100.Google Scholar
Fields, P. R. 1989. Contract Report. An evaluation ofthe fractionation of willow to produce chemical and fermentation feedstocks.Google Scholar
Gullberg, V. 1988. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Research Notes 41, 7–15.Google Scholar
Hamilton, G. J. & Christie, J. M. 1971. Forest management tables. Forestry Commission Booklet 34. London: HMSO.Google Scholar
Hathaway, R. L. & van Kraayenoord, C. W. S. 1981. Short rotation biomass production of willows in New Zealand. In Energy from Biomass. Proceedings of the first E.C. Conference, Brighton, England 1980, pp. 244–50, eds. Palz, W., Chartier, P. & Hall, D. O.Google Scholar
Hunter, T. 1988. Proceedings of International Energy Agency Task II Workshop, Long Ashton, Bristol, pp. 68–75.Google Scholar
McCracken, A. & Dawson, W. M. 1991. Clonal Response in Salix to Melampsora rusts in short rotation coppice plantations. European Journal of Forest Pathology (submitted).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCracken, A. & Dawson, W. M. 1990. The effect of Melampsora rust on the growth and development of Salix in Northern Ireland. Proceedings of International Energy Agency Workshop in Belgium, September, 1990 (in press).Google Scholar
McElroy, G. H. & Dawson, W. M. 1986. Biomass from short rotation coppice willow on marginal land. Biomass 10, 225–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitchell, C. P., Wightman, A., Ford-Robertson, J. & Ennion, R. 1989. Establishment and monitoring of large scale trials of short rotation forestry for energy. Contractor Report ETSU B 1171. London: Department of Energy.Google Scholar
Murphy, B. 1985. An economic opportunity for marginal land in Northern Ireland. Occasional Paper. Belfast: TBM Consultants.Google Scholar
Neenan, M. 1989. Short Rotation Forestry as a source of energy. EC contract report, Teagase. Carlow, Ireland: Oakpark Research Station.Google Scholar
Nilson, L-O. L. 1985. Growth and yield of willow stands in relation to climate and nutrition. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Research Report 21, IV, 1–18.Google Scholar
Royle, D., Hunter, T. & Stott, K. G. et al. 1987. Diseases of Salix biomass plantations: Effects on yield, factors affecting clonal response and research requirements. Proceedings of International Energy Agency workshops, Uppsala, Sweden, 1987. Information report 88:1, 49–57. Toronto: University of Toronto.Google Scholar
Royle, D., 1989. Personal communication for IEA workshop, Toronto, 1989.Google Scholar
Scott, P. 1990. Small-scale combined heat and power scheme using chipped willow biomass. Feasibility Report for Department of Agriculture, Northern Ireland.Google Scholar
Stott, K. G. 1977. 1: Agricultural Aspects. Feasibility Study for P.I.R.A., Leatherhead, Surrey.Google Scholar
Stott, K. G. 1981. Coppice willow from Biomass in the U.K. In Energy from Biomass, First E.C. Conference, Brighton, England, November 1980, pp. 198–209, eds. Palz, W., Chartier, P. & Hall, D. O.Google Scholar
Zsuffa, L. 1988. A review of progress in selecting and breeding North American Salix species for energy plantations. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Research Notes 41, 41–51.Google Scholar