Land availability analysis and social attitude aspects in relation to implementation and development of short' rotation forestry systems in Poland

Abstract

Land availability analysis and social attitude aspects in relation to implementation and development of short' rotation forestry systems in Poland After observations of European development of renewable sources, and according to protocols and directives, set by both European and Polish policy makers, there is a need to find methods to support the future development of Short Rotation Forestry (SRF) using fast-growing trees on agricultural land, and to overcome potential problems. In this paper society attitudes towards future developing options for SRF energy plantations in Poland were investigated. In the investigation, two kinds of questionnaires were presented to various representatives of branches that have a potential interest in the subject. Individual representatives for the groups of industrial and municipal representatives, farmers, researchers and academic teachers, etc. were pooled. The results showed that main difficulties may arise from farmer attitudes towards nontraditional crops. This group of people showed great suspiciousness towards new crops, an attitude, which might be explained in part by the fact that the average level of knowledge concerning SRF energy plantations was low. Another factor that may strongly influence the introduction of SRF plantation is the land availability and suitability. Concerning the relatively large arable lands in Poland in comparison to other European countries the land availability potential has been investigated. On the base of two factors projecting the mentioned aspects of land, the analysis has been performed to figure out regions in Poland with the highest short rotation forestry potential.