Abstract
AbstractShort‐rotation coppice systems like shrub willow are projected to be an important source of biomass in the United States for the production of bioenergy, biofuels, and renewable bio‐based products, with the potential for auxiliary environmental benefits and multifunctional systems. Almost three decades of research has focused on the development of shrub willow crops for biomass and ecosystem services. The current expansion of willow in New York State (about 500 ha) for the production of renewable power and heat has been possible because of incentive programs offered by the federal government, commitments by end users, the development of reliable harvesting systems, and extension services offered to growers. Improvements in the economics of the system are expected as willow production expands further, which should help lower establishment costs, enhance crop management options and increase efficiencies in harvesting and logistics. Deploying willow in multifunctional value‐added systems provides opportunities for both potential producers and end users to learn about the system and the quality of the biomass feedstock, which in turn will help overcome barriers to expansion.
Highlights
There is potential to sustainably produce over 1 billion Mgdry of biomass annually in the United States from a combination of agricultural systems, forestry, and bioenergy crops
Harvesting costs were reduced by about 35% with the development of an effective single-p ass cut-and-chip harvesting system based on a New Holland (NH) forage harvester (Eisenbies et al 2014a)
The results indicate that the mean ash content of 224 samples was 2.1% (CV 28%) and ranged from 0.8% to 3.5% (Eisenbies et al 2015)
Summary
There is potential to sustainably produce over 1 billion Mgdry of biomass annually in the United States from a combination of agricultural systems, forestry, and bioenergy crops. Additional environmental benefits and ecosystem services from willow biomass crops include a high life cycle net-energy ratio, low or no pesticide and herbicide use once the crop is established, low potential for soil erosion, improved water quality, an abundant source of early pollen for bees and other pollinators, and the productive use of marginal and idle agricultural land for rural economic development and job creation (Rowe et al 2009; Volk and Luzadis 2009; Caputo et al 2014; Tumminello et al 2015). Willow LSF can be more cost effective than structural snow fences and LSF of other species due to their rapid growth rates, multiple stems and other characteristics
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