Planting Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) Forest as a Biomass Energy Resource

Abstract

At present, the whole world is facing the challenge of energy shortage. Developing biomass energy resources is vital. However, in China, land area is limited and thus exploiting wild lands to plant fast-growing trees as a biomass energy resource is significant. There is an area of land (1,200,000 ha) in the Yellow River Delta region with rich natural resources; however, because of the adverse and fragile environment, few trees could grow there. Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is the main tree species suited for afforestation. To analyze its growing state and biomass production, a black locust plantation was established and a field survey was conducted. On the basis of the results of a standard plot inventory and a stem disc analysis, the mean biomass of the black locust plantation was obtained: 166.85 t ha−1. The result suggests that for biomass energy resource production, the trunks of the trees played an important role, and moreover, the function was enhanced with stand growing.