Screening the Resilience of Short-Rotation Woody Crops to Climate Change

Sophan Chhin

doi:10.3390/geosciences6010007

Abstract

Sustainable woody biofeedstock production systems require a reliable supply of woody biomass that could be affected by future climate change. However, there is limited understanding of the climatic sensitivity of short rotation woody crops, such as hybrid aspens. The general objective of this study is to identify climatically resilient hybrid aspen clones for woody biomass feedstock development. Specifically, tree-ring analysis methods (dendrochronology) were used to quantify the influence of climate on stem growth rates of hybrid aspens by measuring year-to-year changes in tree-ring width from different cultivars of hybrid aspen and relating annual growth patterns with past instrumental climate records (i.e., temperature and moisture index). Tree-ring analysis was conducted on a full-sib progeny plantation of different cultivars of hybrid aspens (Populus × smithii derived from different geographical variants of aspen parents: trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) and bigtooth aspen (Populus grandidentata) located on Michigan State University property in the Sandhill Research Area (42.7°N latitude; 84.5°W longitude). Overall, the hybrid aspen families examined in this study were more sensitive to moisture related stressors compared to a weaker or no response to temperature stressors. By the end of the 21st century (2071–2100), 11 out of the 18 hybrid aspen families will be vulnerable to future changes in moisture stress, while the remaining families were screened to be resilient to future changes in moisture stress.

Highlights

Rising energy costs and the non-renewable nature of petroleum based energy sources have created the rationale to develop renewable energy sources [1,2]
Woody biomass is a renewable resource that can serve as a feedstock to produce electricity and heat, as well as liquid fuels such as ethanol which in turn helps displace fossil fuel use [3,4]
(2071–2100), 11 out of the 18 hybrid aspen families will be vulnerable to future changes in moisture stress

Summary

Introduction

Rising energy costs and the non-renewable nature of petroleum based energy sources have created the rationale to develop renewable energy sources [1,2]. Woody biomass is a renewable resource that can serve as a feedstock to produce electricity and heat (bioenergy), as well as liquid fuels such as ethanol (biofuels) which in turn helps displace fossil fuel use [3,4]. Woody biomass feedstocks for bioenergy and biofuels production have the potential to be carbon neutral [5]. The most common species used for short rotation forestry occur in the genus Populus and Salix [3,4,5]. Hybrid poplars have been tapped as an important biofeedstock resource in which productivity gains can be realized over very short rotations of less than 10 years [5,6]. Hybrid poplars are derived from both natural and anthropogenic crosses among poplar species [7]

Objectives

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Results

Conclusion