Abstract
Invasive species are an environmental problem affecting worldwide ecosystems. In the case of Acacia dealbata Link., the negative impacts affect the productivity of the forests due to the competition established with native species while contributing to a significant increment in the available fuel load, increasing the risk of fire. In Portugal, chemical and mechanical methods are mostly used in the control of these species. However, the costs are often unsustainable in the medium term, being abandoned before completing the tasks, allowing the recovery of the invasive species. The establishment of value chains for the biomass resulting from these actions was pointed out by several authors as a solution for the sustainability of the control process, as it contributes to reducing costs. However, the problems in quantifying the biomass availability make it challenging to organize and optimize these actions. This work, which started from a dendrometrical analysis carried out in stands of A. dealbata, created a model to assess woody biomass availability. The model proved to be statistically significant for stands with trees younger than 20 years old. However, the amount of data collected and the configuration of the settlements analyzed do not allow extrapolation of the model presented to older settlements.
Highlights
Introduction iationsAcacia dealbata Link. is a species of Australian origin that has shown very aggressive invasive behavior in certain locations in Europe, namely in certain specific habitats and protected areas, such as coastal dunes, riparian zones, natural parks, and other protected areas, and in agricultural areas or in the borders of forest areas [1,2,3]
From the data obtained bycalculated direct measurement, such assamples height, weight, trunkindiameter at chest height, or crown diameter, the area occupied by the crown was determined, as this is understood to be the factor to be used in the creation of the mathematical model for estimating the biomass of stands
As can be seen from the results presented, the A. dealbata stands have the capacity to provide 863.5 tons of biomass, distributed over 12 hectares of land, which corresponds to a production of approximately 72 t/hectare
Summary
Introduction iationsAcacia dealbata Link. is a species of Australian origin that has shown very aggressive invasive behavior in certain locations in Europe, namely in certain specific habitats and protected areas, such as coastal dunes, riparian zones, natural parks, and other protected areas, and in agricultural areas or in the borders of forest areas [1,2,3]. Is a species of Australian origin that has shown very aggressive invasive behavior in certain locations in Europe, namely in certain specific habitats and protected areas, such as coastal dunes, riparian zones, natural parks, and other protected areas, and in agricultural areas or in the borders of forest areas [1,2,3]. (2010) pointed out human interference, soil disturbance and severe fires, as the main causes of the spread of A. dealbata in different habitats [4]. The same authors, corroborated by others, presented the main impacts on ecosystems directly associated with the invasion and prevalence of A. dealbata in invaded ecosystems, namely the negative effects on native biodiversity [5,6,7].
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