QUALITY OF THE BIOMASS PRODUCED IN A POPLAR ENERGY CROP AS A FUNCTION OF TYPE OF CLONE, FERTILIZATION AND HARVEST ALTERNATIVE

摘要

The aim of this work is to investigate the effects of the type of clone, fertilization and harvestrnalternative on quality and yield of poplar biomass on short rotation conditions. The plantation was established onrnMarch 2006 with four poplar clones: I-214 and AF2 (P. x euramericana); and UNAL and USA 49-177 (P. xrninteramericana). Poplar biomass is considered a suitable biofuel due to its appropriate ash melting behaviour, and itsrnlow content of sulphur, chlorine, nitrogen and ash. Calorific value shows statistical differences among clones andrnwith the harvest alternatives, although mean values among clones and harvest type are small. Taking into account thernelemental results with more than 15 elements analysed, only nitrogen, sulphur and phosphorus increase their contentsrnas a function of the fertilization. With regard to the biomass yield, important differences are found among clones,rnharvests and fertilization. The highest yields (higher than 14000 kg/ha year) are found for clones UNAL and USA 49-rn177.