Short rotation forestry (SRF) for bioenergy production along with other woody biomass feedstock will play a significant role in a more secure and sustainable energy resource for the European community. SRF for energy purposes is rapidly expanding in Europe, because of several environmental benefits. In this study we estimated the carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration in a Short Rotation Forestry of poplar located in the basin of Ticino River, Lombardy, Italy (45° 19' 00" N 008° 51' 00" E). The SRF plantation (P generosa X P. nigra clone Pegaso) occupies an area of 80 ha: trees were planted in March 2004 using 1-year-old seedlings in a double row design with a spacing of 2.8 x 0.75 x 0.45 m corresponding to a density of 12.500 plants ha-1.We used two independent techniques: eddy correlation (EC) provide measurements of net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) based on the fluxes generated by the photosynthetic and respiration activity, and a traditional approach, based on biomass increment, for estimate the CO2 gain by the vegetation. The heterotrophic respiration of the soil was measure using trench technique in order to quantify the amount of carbon losses by microbial activity. The two approaches allow to determine the Net Ecosystem Production (NEP) of the ecosystem that represent the net amount of CO2 gained by the ecosystem. Obtained data was used to estimate the differences between the two techniques proposed. The cumulated NEP measure by EC was 757 g C m-2** for the year 2005 (corresponding to 27.7 t of CO2) instead the NEP obtained by biometrical techniques was 630 g C m-2 (corresponding to 23. t of CO2.The comparison between the NEP estimates using eddy covariance technique and biometrical measurements show a constant overestimation of the value obtained whit the EC for both years of the investigation.

ZENONE Terenzio; 

2008-03-13

JRC41702