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Research article2012Peer reviewedOpen access

Stump and root biomass of poplar stands

Johansson, Tord; Hjelm, Birger

Abstract

Today there is an increasing demand for biomass for use in energy production. In this study we investigated stumps and roots from six poplar (Populus sp.) stands growing on former farmland in Sweden, situated between latitudes 55 and 60°N. The mean age of the poplar was 20 years (range 16–23), the mean stand density 1151 stems ha−1 (range 361–3279), and the mean diameter at breast height (over bark) 288 mm (range 81–574). All poplar stands were on clay soils (light and medium clay and light clay tills).The mean dry mass weight of the 72 excavated stumps was 45 ± 39 kg (range 1–185), with the roots ≥ 50 mm weighing 14 ± 16 kg (range 0.2–87). Dry mean stump weight represented 21% (by dry weight) of the stem. The mean total dry weight per hectare for stumps amounted to 34.9 ± 21.8 (range 12.9–66.9) tons and the equivalent value for roots was 12.0 ± 9.6 (range 4.7–10.9) tons. The excavation of below-ground biomass can either focus on the stump or the stump and parts of the root system. Depending on the combination of soil type and soil moisture the weight of soil adhering to stumps and the cleaning requirements will vary.

Published in

Forests
2012, Volume: 3, number: 2, pages: 166-178

      SLU Authors

    • Sustainable Development Goals

      SDG7 Affordable and clean energy

      UKÄ Subject classification

      Forest Science

      Publication identifier

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/f3020166

      Permanent link to this page (URI)

      https://res.slu.se/id/publ/39466