Study of Paulownia's Biomass Production in Mérida (Badajoz), Southwestern Spain

Abstract

Fast-growing forest species have become an alternative to take into account for irrigated land with lower profit margins. The objective of this project is to know the adaptation and biomass yields of the Paulownia crop for biomass and timber production, in the irrigated area of the Guadiana River 'Vegas Bajas' in Extremadura Region, (SPAIN). In 2012, two plots with 4 different Paulownia clones were planted (112, COT2, L1 and X1). One plot has been destined to timber production (T), with a 10-year rotation, grown at 4 by 4m spacing, and the other plot has been destined to biomass production (B), with a 3-year rotation, grown at 3 by 2m spacing. In February 2016, the first rotation stand of the biomass (B) plot was harvested. Clone X1 has showed a significantly lower performance in terms of dry matter production and growth, whilst among the other 3 clones, no significant differences were observed. The total production of the biomass plot was 24280.1kg dry matter ha -1. Average annual total biomass yield was 8093.4 Kg ms ha -1 for plot (B).