Skip Navigation

Forestry 1988 61(2):125-136; doi:10.1093/forestry/61.2.125
© 1988 by Institute of Chartered Foresters
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by CANNELL, M. G. R.
Right arrow Articles by MILNE, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Light Use Efficiency and Woody Biomass Production of Poplar and Willow

M. G. R. CANNELL, L. J. SHEPPARD and R. MILNE

Institute of Terrestrial Ecology Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26 0QB, Scotland

Stands of clonal Salix viminalis (in 1985) and Populus trichocarpa (in 1986) were grown for one growing season from cuttings in containers, at 0.3 m spacing, supplied with trickle irrigation and nutrients. Woody biomass production (Bw) in the first year was analysed as the product of the proportion of dry matter partitioned to wood ({eta}{macron}), the seasonal mean efficiency with which intercepted light was used to produce dry matter ({varepsilon}{macron}), the mean fraction of incident light intercepted by the canopies (f{macron}), and the amount of incoming solar radiation over the season (A). Thus, Bw = {eta}{macron}f{macron}{varepsilon}{macron}A.

For Salix, Bw=10 t ha–1y–1, while for Populus, Bw = 5 t ha–1y–1, mainly because of differences in {eta}{macron} and f{macron}. The Populus partitioned more dry matter to roots (and correspondingly less to stems) and intercepted less light over the growing season. The Salix and Populus clones had surprisingly similar ({varepsilon}{macron}) values, namely 1. 58 and 1. 50 g MJ–1, respectively (based on total dry matter and total solar radiation), which are very like the {varepsilon}{macron} values measured on C3 agricultural crops in Britain. Also, the Salix and Populus clones produced canopies with similar light extinction coefficients and hence similar relationships between fractional interception and leaf area index.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.