| 1. |
- Böhlenius, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of Direct Application of Fertilizers and Hydrogel on the Establishment of Poplar Cuttings
- 2014
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Ingår i: Forests. - : MDPI AG. - 1999-4907. ; 5, s. 2967-2979
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of poplar plantations is to achieve high biomass production over a short rotation period. This requires low mortality and fast development of the transplants. The experiment described in this paper examines methods aimed at enhancing survival and development of Populus trichocarpa plants by application of fertilizers, a hydrogel or a combination of both to dormant cuttings just before planting. The experiment was carried out at two agricultural sites with different soil characteristics, a loamy sand and a silty loam. It was demonstrated that none of the treatments influenced survival or early growth at the silty loam soil site, and plant development was delayed by the solid fertilizer. At the site with loamy sand, the solid fertilizer negatively affected both survival and early growth. Hydrogel and the combination of hydrogel and the solid fertilizer also hampered early growth. Overall, treatments of poplar cuttings with hydrogel or fertilizers alone, or in combination, may not be a method to reduce poplar cutting mortality or to enhance early plant development on agricultural land. However, our results demonstrate that establishing poplar with cuttings as transplants can be used on both loamy sand and silty loam soils.
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| 2. |
- Lindbladh, Matts, et al.
(författare)
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Short-rotation bioenergy stands as an alternative to spruce plantations: implications for bird biodiversity
- 2014
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Ingår i: Silva Fennica. - : Finnish Society of Forest Science. - 0037-5330 .- 2242-4075. ; 48
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Global efforts to decrease dependence on fossil fuels have increased interest in bioenergy production. One source of bioenergy is fast growing deciduous tree species, such as hybrid aspen (Populus x wettsteinii Hamet-Ahti). The majority of research on hybrid aspen which assesses biodiversity implications, has however primarily focused on agricultural lands as the reference condition. This has resulted in a substantial gap in our knowledge regarding the biodiversity implications of replacing production forest types with hybrid aspen, a form of reforestation taking place in northern Europe. In this study we address this knowledge gap by comparing the avian biodiversity of young hybrid aspen and spruce (Picea abies L.) plantations of similar age, the latter being the most prevalent forestry alternative in in southern Sweden. We found that hybrid aspen stands had higher bird species richness and abundance as well as a distinct community composition compared to the spruce stands. We suggest that the most likely driver was the greater structural and tree species complexity in the aspen stands, provided for by the fenced exclusion of ungulates from the regenerating hybrid aspen stands. Our results indicate that at least during early stages of regeneration, and in comparison to the dominating production forest type in the region, hybrid aspen stands can support relatively high levels of bird diversity, and a bird species composition more closely associated with broadleaf habitat types requiring restoration in this region.
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