Willow (Salix) Short Rotation Coppice

in Sweden Willow SRC in Sweden

Nils-Erik Nordh
Department of Crop Production Ecology
§ 11 000 ha (2013)
Cultivation, on agricultural land, of fast growing
Salix species or hybrids using dense spacing 8 t DM ha-1 year-1
and short harvest intervals (3-5 years). § 4 m3 oil or 40 MWh
Energy ratio 15-20 : 1
Management consists of chemical and
mechanical weed control and
fertilisation.

The purpose is to produce wood biomass to be

used as fuel in district heating plants.

Why Salix? The salix production system

2 Planting

• Fast juvenile growth 1

3

• Long growing season

• Can be multipied by cuttings => clones
4
• New shoots from the stump after
6

harvest Harvest

• Can be grown on agricultural land 5

• Energy efficient – high energy ratio Cutting cycle for a salix plantation

1
 Agricultural crop Choice of clone

Tordis
Björn Ulv

¾Choice of site
Before planting: Gudrun

¾Weeding
¾Ploughing
Salix viminalis – basket willow (korgvide)
Salix schwerinii – ”sibiriskt korgvide”
¾Harrowing Salix dasyclados - sammetsvide

The young plants are poor competitors

Planting in spring…

15,000 cuttings ha-1

§17 cm
150 cm
60 cm
75 cm

2
 …and two months later… …3-4 years later - time to harvest

Mechanical weeding

Harvest

As short transport
distance as possible
• Harvest during winter
• Shoots are cut and chipped
simultaneously

3
 Large scale implementation…

New harvest methods

…or small scale rural production ”Bio-baler”

4
New harvest methods
”Whole shoot harvest”

The harvest ends

the cutting cycle

Fertilisation Harvest ends the cutting cycle and regrowth

from the stumps starts the next…

60–100 kg N ha-1 year-1

20 April-04

5
 1 June-04 25 Apr-05

Stand development during 4 cutting cycles

9 June-05

6
 The expected lifespan of a salix
Decreasing survival
plantation is 20-30 years
100
90
80
Mean plant survival

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Year

TheIndividual plantschanges
stand structure may become
over very
time Removal
large which complicates the harvest…
1. Winter - harvest
2. Spring - regrowth
3. Early summer - Roundup+MCPA
4. Summer – stump ”demolition”
5. Autumn - harrowing + sowing

...with harvest losses as a result

7
 June 26, 2009 - spraying July 26, 2009 - one month after spraying

Disc harrowing before sowing

Stump removal without soil cultivation

8
Oct. 13, 2009 - Emergence of winter wheat seedlings

Winter wheat and salix 1 july 2010

Damage
and Breeding
pests
• Tordis
– 3-year shoot
Insects
Leaf rust – 6-year root
– Irrigated and
fertilised.

Frost

Roedeer, moose 9.2 m height

Foto: Agrobränsle AB
75 mm diameter

9
 Current use of salix
Multifunctional salix plantations
in Enköping
• Biomass for energy
– renewable, domestic, env. friendly
Salix plantations (70 ha)
• Phytoremediation
Biomass to
- Rest products of the society = resource Power Plant
• Other Wastewater storage pond
– Snowdrift , wind erosion, buffer zone,
hunting, biodiversity, ”snow sticks” Sewage plant

The waste water is stored in ponds….

…and is spread in the plantation
through drip irrigation tubes

Foto: Pär Aronsson, SLU Foto: Pär Aronsson, SLU

10
 Salix cultivation is a fully developed
cropping system, from planting to harvest
and there is a demand for wood chips

Should not the area planted with salix increase…?

Why does not the area of salix increase?

Thanks for
your attention!

Questions?

Use of machinery

Knowledge

11