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Bioenerg. Res. (2012) 5:535–536 DOI 10.1007/s12155-012-9230-2 Environmental Impacts of Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) Grown for Biomass on Agricultural Land Martin Weih & Ioannis Dimitriou Published online: 26 June 2012 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012 This issue of BioEnergy Research highlights the activities production system for most regions in which it might be within a European Union research project funded by ERA- grown in future, and many uncertainties exist with respect to NET Bioenergy, “Reducing environmental impact of SRC the environmental impacts of those plantations on soil, water, through evidence-based integrated decision support tools” biodiversity, and landscape issues. (RATING-SRC). The project goal was to provide scientific This special issue contains seven papers covering the topic evidence for evaluating the impacts—positive and negative— areas of SRC effects on issues of water and soil (two papers by of short rotation coppice (SRC) plantations on soil, water, Dimitriou et al., Schmidt-Walter and Lamersdorf), biodiver- biodiversity, and landscape issues and also to propose ways sity (Baum et al.), and the overall impact that these planta- to mitigate the negative and increase the positive impacts. tions may have on the environment and sustainability Commercial SRC plantations are currently grown at limit- (Busch, Englund et al., Langeveld et al.). The paper on soil ed scale in some countries (e.g., Sweden), but the area of SRC issues by Dimitriou et al. highlights the results for pH, plantations has to increase dramatically in the future if they are organic carbon (C), and trace element concentrations in the to contribute significantly to the replacement of fossil energy soil of 14 long-term (10–20 years) commercial willow SRC sources. Thus, a rapid increase of agricultural land dedicated fields in Sweden when compared with those in adjacent, to SRC with willow (Salix spp.) or poplar (Populus spp.) for conventionally managed arable soils. The paper on water production of biomass for heat and/or electricity is projected issues by Dimitriou et al. reports the effects of SRC on water in the short-term in many regions of the world. A large-scale quality by determining differences in leaching of nitrogen shift from “conventional” arable crops to SRC will have and phosphorus to groundwater of 16 commercial SRC implications on a range of environmental issues, and large- stands in Sweden compared to adjacent arable fields grown scale implementation of those crops for bio-energy purpose with “ordinary” crops. Schmidt-Walter and Lamersdorf makes sense only if they prove to reduce negative effects on describe effects on groundwater quality, specifically the po- the environment, especially when compared with other alter- tential effects of SRC grown under different management natives for reduction of fossil energy sources. As a perennial regimes on groundwater recharge. Based on flora inventories crop, SRC differs from most arable crops in physical traits and in eight landscapes located in two European regions management practices. Results so far imply many positive (Germany and Sweden), the paper by Baum et al. focus- environmental benefits due to SRC implementation, but the es on the diversity of higher plants as an indicator of effects that SRC will have on the environment depend on the biodiversity in willow and poplar SRC, including various existing or previous land use, the scale of planting and the scales ranging from habitat to landscape level diversity. management practices applied. In addition, SRC is a new The contribution by Busch is an attempt to assess the impact of SRC on various landscape functions with the : help of GIS-based tools. Englund et al. focus on the M. Weih (*) I. Dimitriou potential effects of sustainability requirements within the Department of Crop Production Ecology, EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED) on different stake- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7043, 750-07 Uppsala, Sweden holders along SRC bioenergy supply chains, assessing their e-mail: [email protected] usefulness in ensuring that SRC bioenergy is produced with 536 Bioenerg. Res. (2012) 5:535–536 sufficient consideration given to the RED-associated criteria. under tight deadlines to organize peer review of manuscripts Langeveld et al. integrate much of the scientific evidence for this special issue. The guest editors were: Professor Lena reported in the above contributions and propose a model for Gustafsson, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, semiquantitative impact assessment regarding various envi- Uppsala, Sweden; Dr. Angela Karp, Rothamsted Research, ronmental issues. Harpenden, UK; Dr. Ronald S. Zalesny Jr., U.S. Forest We would especially like to thank the various anonymous Service, Northern Research Station, Rhinelander, WI; and reviewers for their contributions to this special issue and the Dr. Georg von Wühlisch, Johann Heinrich von Thünen four guest editors who worked so efficiently and partly Institute, Großhansdorf, Germany. Bioenerg. Res. (2012) 5:537–545 DOI 10.1007/s12155-012-9211-5 Impact of Willow Short Rotation Coppice on Water Quality Ioannis Dimitriou & Blas Mola-Yudego & Pär Aronsson Published online: 10 May 2012 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012 Abstract Short rotation coppice (SRC) with willow has considered as a crop that improves the water quality in a been grown in Sweden from the late 1980s to produce certain area [1,2], and this is mainly attributed to different biomass for energy on agricultural land. This study evaluat- management practices and crop characteristics compared to ed the effects of SRC on water quality by determining arable crops. For instance, herbicides are used only during differences in leaching of nitrogen and phosphorus to the establishment phase, in low amounts when compared to groundwater of a number of commercial “old” SRC willow other arable crops, and they are not used thereafter. Nitrogen stands in Sweden compared to adjacent arable fields grown fertilization recommendations for willow SRC have been with “ordinary” crops. The study was conducted in 16 established and vary between 70 and 120 kg Nha−1 year−1 locations under three vegetation seasons. NO3–N leaching in different countries [3–6], being therefore relatively low from willow SRC fields was significantly lower than that compared to other arable crops. In SRC, tillage occurs only from reference fields with cereals. The opposite was ob- during establishment of the crop, and the limited soil distur- served for PO4–P; concentrations in the groundwater of bance probably implies less nitrogen leaching to the ground- SRC were higher compared to reference fields. Sewage water. Moreover, SRC is a perennial crop with a permanent sludge applications were not responsible for the elevated root system still at place in the field during autumn when PO4–P leaching under SRC compared to reference crops. peaks of nutrient leaching are expected when arable crops are grown. Keywords Bioenergy . Biomass . Energy forest . Nitrate Besides the crop characteristics, extensive research under leaching . Phosphorus leaching . Salix controlled conditions has been conducted to estimate the ability of certain willow species to decrease leaching and retain nitrogen. For this reason, high nitrogen application rates supplied both as mineral fertilizers and as wastewater Introduction were tested, showing that willow trees are capable of retain- ing high amounts of nitrogen in the soil–plant system [7,8]. Commercial short rotation coppice (SRC) fields with willow A substantial part of the supplied nitrogen was stored in have been grown on agricultural soils in Sweden already shoots [9,10], thus enabling a removal with harvest. Losses since the late1980s to produce wood biomass for combus- to the air via denitrification that would imply less leaching tion in combined heat and power plants. SRC is generally to the groundwater (calculated up to 30 % of the supplied N in intensively fertilized plantations [9]) have been also * : : I. Dimitriou ( ) B. Mola-Yudego P. Aronsson reported. Based on the above-mentioned characteristics of Department of Crop Production Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), SRC as a crop and of willow species to retain nitrogen, P.O. Box 7016, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden willow SRC has been suggested as a solution to decrease e-mail: [email protected] eutrophication problems in water bodies if grown in areas of intensive agriculture [11] or to be used in field-scale systems B. Mola-Yudego School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, (vegetation filters, phytoremediation) to treat nitrogen-rich PO Box 111, 80101 Joensuu, Finland wastewaters [1,12,13]. 538 Bioenerg. Res. (2012) 5:537–545 Studies of nitrogen leaching losses from experimental and are dependent on several factors [28,29], and when fields applied with mineral fertilizers have shown very low sludge is applied to willow SRC fields, this is usually nitrogen concentrations in groundwater in SRC willow fields applied as a single 7-year dose in spring after harvest. in Sweden and Denmark [14–17]. The results indicated com- This raises some uncertainty on phosphorus leaching paratively small amounts of nitrogen leached to the ground- from SRC fields that have been applied with sludge water once the SRC was established. Also, nitrogen leaching severaltimes,especiallywhencomparedwithother was relatively low from SRC willow fields applied with arable fields in the area. different wastewaters [18–21], although having greater varia- The objectives of this study were to determine leaching tions than for fields applied with mineral fertilizers especially of nitrogen and phosphorus to groundwater of commercial when large nitrogen amounts were applied [21,22]. However, SRC willow fields in Sweden and to quantify the differences and in all cases, the amounts of nitrogen leaching from willow in nitrogen and phosphorus leaching between commercial SRC seemed to depend on a series of site-specific factors such SRC willow fields and adjacent arable fields grown with as soil conditions (e.g., less in clay than in sand—as in “ordinary” crops.