Early growth and survival of shrub willow on newly reclaimed mine soil
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Early growth and survival of shrub willow on newly reclaimed mine soil Bartholomew Caterino1 · Jamie L. Schuler2 · Shawn T. Grushecky3 · Jeffrey Skousen4 Received: 9 August 2019 / Accepted: 23 January 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Shrub willow (Salix spp.) has been a focus of international efforts to develop renewable alternatives for fossil fuels and to sequester carbon from earth’s atmosphere. In the central Appalachian region of the eastern U.S., short rotation willow could be grown on the significant amount of reclaimed mine land, which would promote economic opportunities for these lands. The objective of this study was to examine various establishment treatments designed to overcome common properties of mine soils: high rock fragment content that causes planting difficulties and reduced water- and nutrient-availability. Three shrub willow clones (Fish Creek, Preble, and SX61) were planted using six planting/fertilizer treatments. The planting treatments compared a horizontal planting method to traditional vertical planting of cuttings. Fertilizer treatments compared no fertilization to controlled release and traditional fertilizer at a rate of 140 kg N ha−1. After two growing seasons, Preble outperformed the others in both survival and production but the influence of fertilizer treatments was inconsistent and varied by clone. Survival and growth for horizontally-planted cuttings was 46% relative to vertically planted cuttings at 83%. Results of this study will be used to direct future establishment practices for willow on reclaimed mine soils in West Virginia. Keywords Salix spp. · Mine soil · Reclamation · Bioenergy · Biomass
* Shawn T. Grushecky [email protected] 1
New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Carmel, NY, USA
2
Silviculture, Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA
3
Energy Land Management, Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA
4
Soil Science, Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA
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New Forests
Introduction Short rotation woody crops (SRWC) can be an option for producing large quantities of biomass to supply a bio-energy sector. A major advantage of these cropping systems is the relatively low-input requirements compared to annual crops. Woody crops are perennial and generally require only initial control of competing vegetation, minimal fertilization, and periodic harvesting. By contrast, agricultural crops require annual tillage, planting, fertilization, and pesticides. The inherently low input advantages of SRWC systems can translate to reduced carbon emissions, lessened production costs, and more efficient energy outputs (Keoleian and Volk 2005). In Appalachia, acquiring the land resource for woody biomass crops is not necessarily a limiting factor. These crops can be cultivated on marginal lands that are less suitable for agricultural produ
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