| 1. |
- Böhlenius, Henrik
(författare)
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A Global Review on Innovative, Sustainable, and Effective Materials Composing Growing Media for Forest Seedling Production
- 2023
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Ingår i: Current Forestry Reports. - 2198-6436. ; 9, s. 413-428
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose of Review The demand for forest tree seedlings is increasing globally, and Sphagnum peat moss is widely used as a component of growing media for container plant production. However, peat extraction is environmentally unsustainable. The forest nursery sector needs to switch to more sustainable alternatives to peat. This review aims to identify potential substitutes for peat by reviewing the worldwide literature on alternative materials for growing media in forest nurseries. Recent Findings Most studies on alternative growing media focused on single plant species growing under local conditions, thereby limiting generalizations about the effectiveness of alternative materials for plant production. To our knowledge, no systematic reviews of scientific literature on the effectiveness of new, alternative-to-peat materials for enhancing plant growth and the associated growing media characteristics for the forest nursery sector are currently available. Summary Most of the analyzed case studies focused on angiosperms (73.1%), with the majority of studies coming from tropical seasonal forests/savannas (36.5%), followed by woodlands/shrublands (31.6%), and temperate forests (15.0%) biomes. Compost was the most studied material (19.5%), followed by bark, other organic materials, and manure (9.8, 9.7, and 8.0%, respectively). Green and municipal wastes were the principal sources of compost (> 60%), while agriculture and green wastes were the first sources of other materials (> 90%). Tested materials were dependent on the geographic region. Thus, manure was the most tested material in Africa and South America, tree bark in North America, and compost in Europe, Asia, and Oceania. Alternative materials effectively provided optimal physicochemical characteristics of growing media and enhanced seedling nursery growth when compared with peat-based growing media in more than 60% of the case studies. This review helps to identify research gaps and, most importantly, provides the basis for the future application of alternative growing media materials in forest nursery management worldwide.
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| 2. |
- Böhlenius, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
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Biomass production and fuel characteristics from long rotation poplar plantations
- 2023
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Ingår i: Biomass and Bioenergy. - : Elsevier Ltd. - 0961-9534 .- 1873-2909. ; 178
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- One of the key elements in this transition is the securing of a large supply of sustainable biomass. In this study, the feedstock potential of long rotation poplar plantations (12–30 years with diameter of 15 of 30 cm) was determined and the properties of poplar biomass fuel were analyzed with the aim of using thermochemical conversion methods to produce biofuel. Our results demonstrate that Sweden has great potential for producing biofuels from long rotation poplar plantations, with a total of 1.8 million hectares (ha) consisting of arable (0.5 million ha) and forested arable land (1.3 million ha). Based on available land and biomass production potential, our results indicate that 10 million Mg DW could be produced annually. Regions in mid/southern Sweden have the largest potential (larger areas and higher biomass production. Our results further suggest that poplar biomass from these plantations has fuel characteristics similar to forest fuels from other conifer tree species, making the biomass suitable as feedstock for biofuel production based on thermochemical conversion methods. If 25% of the available land were used, 7.6 TWh methanol biofuels could be produced annually from 16 biofuel plants, using 160,000 Mg DW yr−1, primarily located in the southern part of Sweden. Two counties (Skåne and Västra Götaland) would be able to support their biofuel plants using poplar plantations as feedstock. Stable biofuel production in the other counties would depend on collaborating with neighboring counties.
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| 3. |
- Böhlenius, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
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Liming increases early growth of poplars on forest sites with low soil pH
- 2020
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Ingår i: Biomass and Bioenergy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0961-9534 .- 1873-2909. ; 138
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Poplars are traditionally grown on former agricultural land but forest land holds great potential for poplar production as the available area is large. However, knowledge of how to establish poplars on forestland is poor. This study investigates how soil treatments (mix, patch and mound) and liming influence early growth of poplars during the first four years after planting. Our results suggest that soil treatments have a limited effect on survival or growth of newly-established plants compared to plots with no soil treatments. Liming increased plant survival at the fourth year and highly increased plant height and diameter growth when combined with either patch or mounding soil treatments. At these treatments, application of lime resulted in plant heights of 200 cm at experimental site Vinsasen or 150 cm at site Tonnersjoheden and compared to plots without lime growth is doubled These results suggest that poplar plantations on acid forest land should be established with both soil treatments and application of lime. These practices can enable poplar plantations on forest sites, increasing the available area for poplar plantations in the boreal/nemoral regions. Our findings also encourage further investigations of the production potential of poplar plantation on forestland and identification of genetic material suitable for forest sites.
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| 4. |
- Böhlenius, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
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Monitoring and control of forest seedling quality in Europe
- 2023
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Ingår i: Forest Ecology and Management. - 0378-1127 .- 1872-7042. ; 546
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The relationship between the quality of forest seedlings and their outplanting survival and growth has long been recognized. Various attributes have been proposed to measure the quality of planted seedlings in forest regeneration projects, ranging from simple morphological traits to more complex physiological and performance attributes, or a combination thereof. However, the utility and meaning of seedling quality attributes can differ significantly among regions, nursery practices, site planting conditions, species and the establishment purpose. Here, forest scientists compiled information using a common agreed questionnaire to provide a review of current practices, experiences, legislation and standards for seedling quality across 23 European countries.Large differences exist in measuring seedling quality across countries. The control of the origin of seed and vegetative material (genetic component of plant quality), and control of pests and diseases are common practices in all countries. Morphological attributes are widely used and mandatory in most cases. However, physiological attributes are hardly used at the operative level and mainly concentrated to Fennoscandia. Quality control legislation and seedling quality standards are less strict in northern European countries where seedling production is high, and quality control relies more on the agreements between producers and local plant material users. In contrast, quality standards are stricter in Southern Europe, especially in the Mediterranean countries.The control of seedling quality based on plantation and reforestation success is uncommon and depends on the conditions of the planting site, the traditional practices and the financial support provided by each country. Overall, European countries do not apply the "target seedling concept" for seedling production except for seed origin. Seedling production in many countries is still driven by traditional "know-how" and much less by scientific knowledge progress, which is not adequately disseminated and transferred to the end-users.Our review highlights the need for greater harmonization of seedling quality practices across Europe and the increased dissemination of scientific knowledge to improve seedling quality in forest regeneration activities.
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| 5. |
- Böhlenius, Henrik
(författare)
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Risks, benefits, and knowledge gaps of non-native tree species in Europe
- 2022
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-701X. ; 10
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Changing ecosystem conditions and diverse socio-economical events have contributed to an ingrained presence of non-native tree species (NNTs) in the natural and cultural European landscapes. Recent research endeavors have focused on different aspects of NNTs such as legislation, benefits, and risks for forestry, emphasizing that large knowledge gaps remain. As an attempt to fulfill part of these gaps, within the PEN-CAFoRR COST Action (CA19128) network, we established an open-access questionnaire that allows both academic experts and practitioners to provide information regarding NNTs from 20 European countries. Then, we integrated the data originating from the questionnaire, related to the country-based assessment of both peer-reviewed and grey literature, with information from available datasets (EUFORGEN and EU-Forest), which gave the main structure to the study and led to a mixed approach review. Finally, our study provided important insights into the current state of knowledge regarding NNTs. In particular, we highlighted NNTs that have shown to be less commonly addressed in research, raising caution about those characterized by an invasive behavior and used for specific purposes (e.g., wood production, soil recultivation, afforestation, and reforestation). NNTs were especially explored in the context of resilient and adaptive forest management. Moreover, we emphasized the assisted and natural northward migration of NNTs as another underscored pressing issue, which needs to be addressed by joint efforts, especially in the context of the hybridization potential. This study represents an additional effort toward the knowledge enhancement of the NNTs situation in Europe, aiming for a continuously active common source deriving from interprofessional collaboration.
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