Productivity and chemical composition of wood tissues of short rotation willow coppice cultivated on arable land

In the period 1996-1999 field trial was performed in Obory near Kwidzyn on heavy textured Fluvisols. The experiment was aimed to determine yield, chemical composition, heat value of wood of six genotypes of willow coppice in relation to cutting frequency and on determining the costs and profitability of willow production on arable land for purposes of energy generation. Yield of wood dry matter in one-year cutting cycle amounted to 14.09 t.ha(-1).year(-1) and significantly increased to 16.05 and 21.55 t.ha(-1).year(-1) when harvesting was performed in two and three years cycle, respectively. The highest yield was found for Salix viminalis 082 form cut in three years cycle and it amounted to 26.44 t.ha(-1).year(-1). Stems of Salix sp. cut every three years showed the lowest water content (46.05%), high heat value 19.56 MJ.kg(-1) dry matter and the highest content of cellulose (55.94%), lignins (13.79%) and hemicelluloses (13.96%). High yielding potential of Salix sp. and high content of cellulose and lignin in wood make this crop very prosperous as a feedstock for bioenergy production. The highest profit from the willow plantation was obtained in case of harvest every three years at 578.76 EUR.ha(-1).year(-1).