Growth potential of different species and genotypes for biomass production in short rotation in Mediterranean environments

The sustainable production of lignocellulosic biomass in Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) in the context of bioeconomic development in Europe demands an ever greater understanding of the plant material. Different species and, in some cases, different genotypes (Populus deltoides 'Baldo', Populus x canadensis 'Orion', 'Oudenberg', 'Ballottino' and 'I-214'; Robinia pseudoacacia 'Nyirsegi', Salix matsudana x Salix spp. 'Levante' and Platanus x hispanica 'Girona') were tested at four contrasting Mediterranean locations to determine the biomass yield after three years. Besides production, genotypic stability is a key factor in furthering our understanding of the plant material, with important implications for the management of plantations as well as for breeding. To study this factor, several stability models were compared (additive mixed model, Shukla's stability variance model, Finlay-Wilkinson and Eberhart-Russell models) and differences in the response capacity of the material were evaluated in the different environments. This evaluation of genotypic stability, based on the measurement of variances, was complemented by an analysis of the mean genotypic value and the variability in genotype productivity. Intrinsic water use efficiency was also evaluated as it is an important trait of plant material destined for use in Mediterranean conditions. S. matsudana x Salix spp. 'Levante' exhibited the highest production and showed an intermediate reactivity (stability) as well as high intrinsic water use efficiency under the conditions in which it was tested. P. x canadensis 'Orion' also displayed a good overall performance and was highly sensitive to improving environmental conditions. Conversely, R. pseudoacacia and P. x hispanica presented yields well below the average as well as low responsiveness to improved environmental conditions. Our findings will contribute to a better understanding of plant material, enabling improved recommendations for plantations the Mediterranean area, including more precise large scale predictions. Furthermore, the information provided will be of particular value in future breeding programs. © 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sixto Blanco, Hortensia Concepción, Cañellas, I., van Arendonk, J., Ciria, P., Camps, F., Sánchez, M., Sánchez-González, M.
Format: artículo biblioteca
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2015
Subjects:Populus deltoides, Populus x canadensis, Salix matsudana x Salix spp., Robinia pseudoacacia, Platanus x hispanica, Biomass production, G x E interaction, IWUE, SRC,
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12792/4337
http://hdl.handle.net/10261/292961
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!