Abstract
Populus species have a high productivity potential as short-rotation woody crops, provided that site-suitable varieties are planted. The Coastal Plain, the Piedmont, and the Blue Ridge Mountains make up a significant part of the eastern and southeastern USA, and an insight into poplar productivity and adaptability will be valuable for the successful implementation of large-scale poplar stands in these regions. The objectives of this study were to examine the green wood biomass (hereafter biomass), biomass allocation, and wood properties of poplars in relation to growing conditions, physiography, and topography. The biomass of 4-year-old poplars was estimated using an equation derived through destructive sampling. Biomass-based clonal rankings were compared across the various site conditions (fertility, irrigation, land marginality, soil preparation, and topography) and the three physiographic provinces. Although not all clonal differences in biomass were significant, growing conditions, physiography, and soil preparation affected the clonal rankings and the significance of the clonal differences. Biomass changes due to physiography and land conditions were more structured at the genomic-group level. A higher-altitude physiography led to greater biomass increases in Populus trichocarpa × Populus deltoids (TD) clones than in P. deltoids × P. deltoids (DD) clones and vice versa. Favorable soil quality or management generally led to greater biomass of DD clones than of TD and P. deltoids × Populus maximowiczii (DM) clones. Weather-related variables were not clearly correlated with biomass, while land aspect was a significant influence on the biomass of genomic groups and clones. The site significantly affected wood density, moisture content, and carbon and nitrogen concentrations, while the clonal effects on wood composition and the clonal and site effects on biomass allocation were insignificant. Although clones showing greater biomass responses to growing conditions generally belonged to the same genomic group, clone-level selection could produce greater biomass gains than selection at the genomic-group level.
Highlights
According to the 2005 Billion-Ton Study, the 2011 update, and the 2016 report, in the United States, woody feedstocks are expected to make a great contribution to the sustainable biomass supply for the bioeconomy [1]
The green wood productivity, wood properties and composition, and wood biomass allocation of poplars were examined in relation to site conditions, physiography, and land topography
Not all clonal differences in the wood biomass were significant, the clonal rankings and the significance of clonal differences were largely affected by growing conditions and physiography
Summary
According to the 2005 Billion-Ton Study, the 2011 update, and the 2016 report, in the United States, woody feedstocks are expected to make a great contribution to the sustainable biomass supply for the bioeconomy [1]. With only 2% of the 2017 total energy consumption in the United States coming from wood and wood waste [2] and with the contribution of woody feedstocks to biofuels currently being non-existent for practical purposes, achieving the bioeconomy target will require a great enhancement in the productivity of woody crops [1]. In the southeastern United States, there is significant potential for conventional forestry to contribute to the bio-based economy mainly in the form of wood wastes and logging residues.
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