Screening of Non-Commercial Woody Plants as Biomass Fuel Producers. Reporting Period: June 1, 1978-January 31, 1979

摘要

We are meeting our primary objective of identifying noncommercial woody plant species which may be potentially useful as biomass fuel producers. During the eight months we have had funding, we have completed or can realistically project completion of each task scheduled in our 1978 proposal. These tasks include: Species Identification, Literature Screening, Biomass Fuel Species Garden Selection - Establishment - Preparation, and Propagation of Ailanthus altissima. In addition to the timely completion of our scheduled Year-1 tasks, we have initiated Year-2 tasks including Collection of Seed/Rootstock, Culture of Seed/Rootstock, and the Selection of an Upper Coastal Plain Field Site. Through an intensive, goal-oriented literature review we are evaluating the 23 most-promising species to select 10 of them for field trials against Cottonwood and Sycamore in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain. The intensive literature analysis focuses on the physiological/ecological characteristics of the 25 woody plant species. Utilizing manual and computer database searches, 700 papers have been collected from 3000 titles of potential interest. Each paper has been evaluated as an element of a comprehensive Species Information Outline. A task specific computer program is being used to accumulate the titles and to organize them by species, and/or outline categories such as Growth, Pollutant Effects, Environmental Effects, and Propagation Techniques. One important result of our literature analysis is that we have found a deficiency of research on mineral nutrient efficiency and pollution tolerance of woody plants. Our evaluation of the literature will be used in selecting, this spring, 10 of the 25 promising plants for field tests. The literature and computer program will also be used to develop formal written summaries for each species. 13 references, 6 tables. (ERA citation 10:015907)