Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) Short-Rotation Crops under Marginal Site Conditions

摘要

The improvement of the reliability of renewable resudources and the decline in reserves ofudfossile raw material in the coming decades will leaudd to increasing demands for wood material andudconsequently to a greater role of short rotation foudrestry (SRF). Particular efforts have been made inudEurope to substitute fossils with renewables, in thudis context the proportion of renewable energy shouluddudbe increased to 20% by 2020. SRF can be provide reludatively high dendromass (biomass) incrementudrates if the short rotation tree plantations are grudown under favourable site conditions and for anudoptimum rotation length. However, in many countriesudonly so-called marginal sites are available forudsetting up tree plantations for energy purpose. ForudSRF under marginal site conditions black locustud(udRobinia pseudoacaciaudL.) can be considered as one of the most promisingudtree species thanks to itsudfavourable growing characteristics. According to audcase study presented in the paper black locust canudproduce a Mean Annual Increment (MAI) of 2.9 to 9.7udoven-dry tons haud–1udyrud–1udat ages between 3 andud7 years using a stocking density of 6667 stems haud–1ud. On the base of the presented results and accordinudgudto international literature the expected dendromassudvolume shows great variation, depending upon site,udspecies, their cultivars, initial spacing and lengtudh of rotation cycle.