INTENSIVE OR EXTENSIVE CULTIVATION OF SHORT ROTATION HYBRID POPLAR COPPICE ON FOREST LAND

An intensive short rotation treatment was compared with a low input extensive treatment on Populus trichocarpa x deltoides (Beaupre) coppiced at two- or three-year intervals on a previously wooded land in central France. Each individual plot contained 400 stools, in order to allow a reasonable extension to large-scale plantations. The extensive treatment generally led to high mortality, poor height and diameter growth, and a small number of sprouts per stool. Total mean annual biomass production amounted to 3.5 t in the intensive treatment and 0.6 t in the extensive treatment. These relatively low figures represent 'field yields' which may be obtained in average conditions, compared with 'record yields' obtained in very controlled conditions. Short rotation coppice culture should include a good soil preparation in order to ensure a favourable establishment of the stumps.