University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, ViennaDepartment of Applied Plant Sciences and Plant Biotechnology

Universität für Bodenkultur WienDepartment für Angewandte Pflanzen-wissenschaften und Pflanzenbiotechnologie

Short rotation coppice – state of the art in Austria  

P. LIEBHARD, Th. LEWIS, Chr. KNUST and F. DEIM

1. Introduction and challenges:In Austria, the natural preconditions for agriculture and forestry are relatively favourable (Tab. 1), also regarding Austria's 8,1 million inhabitants. Nevertheless, the constantly increasing demand for wood can hardly be satisfied with conventional forestry in the future (Fig. 2). The wood demand increases because of the high share of lumber exports, the requirements of the pulp & paper and chipboard industry and the growing bioenergy sector. Thus, additional quantities of wood need to be produced. Short rotation coppice (SRC) plantations on agricultural land are a promising option to contribute to an increased wood supply.Because of competition for agricultural land and the priority of food and feed production, SRC are likely to be established on marginal land. Despite favourable market options for SRC wood, landowners hesitate to start growing SRC because of high initial investments, irregular cash flows and the long-term commitment.

2. Current energy production and consumption:Renewables currently have a share of 27.6 % in total energy consumption in Austria. The

share of bioenergy is constantly increasing. In contrast, other renewables, especially

hydropower, are already fully exploited and cannot be expanded on a large scale (Fig. 1).

Firewood and wood chips account for 57 % of overall biomass. Currently, 50 % of the

domestic heating demand in Austria is satisfied with renewables. Most of it comes from

wood. The implementation of biomass and district heating systems is well distributed in

Austria (Fig. 3).

5. Conclusion: SRC is gaining importance in Austria as an alternative land use option, which may contribute to satisfy the constantly increasing wood demand for industrial and energy purposes. SRC is a low input production system suitable for marginal land. Some major agronomical aspects, such as SRC establishment, management, harvesting, logistics and yield improvement still need to be optimized. These improvements would make SRC more attractive to land owners. SRC has many positive environmental effects and may even substitute certain forest functions.

4. Current research topics:- Planting material: quality; sprouting capacity- Tree varieties and site specific optimization of the planting system- Weed regulation: mechanically and chemically- Erosion protection: especially on slopes- SRC and wind protection- SRC and agroforestry- SRC and carbon sequestration- SRC and bird protection- legal framework conditions of SRC

3. Defining short rotation coppice:SRC is mainly planted on arable land on altitudes between 110 and 1130 meters a.s.l. . Soil

types include vertisols, fluvisols, gleysols, podzols and chernozems. Preferred tree

species are poplar, willow, false acacia, alder and birch. Field sizes planted with short

rotation coppice in Austria vary between 0.1 and 30 ha. Both, the single and the double

row system are used. Plantation design varies according to the required stand density

and the harvesting technology. Planting densities of 3000 to 12000 trees per hectare and

rotation lengths of 2 to 5 years are commonly used. The yield ranges between 7 and 13

tons absolutely dry biomass per ha and year. SRC harvesting techniques range from

manual harvest to fully mechanized systems.

Bioenergy 2007 (tot. 183 PJ)

Firewood; 64,5

Other; 31,8

Biogas; 1,7

straw; 0,1waste liquors

from pulp industry; 25,1

Biofuels; 11,7

bark and pulp wood; 21,8

Pellet, briquette, wood

chips; 25,9

Fig. 1: Renewable energy sources in Austria (2007)

Fig. 2: Bioenergy production in Austria (2007)

Fig. 3: Distribution of the „biomass and district heating systems“ in Austria

Tab. 1: Land use in Austria in ha Total area of Austria 8 384 000 Productive land 6 578 163 Nonproductive land 832 820 Arable land 3 267 833 Entire forest area 3 960 000 used for forestry (84,9 %) 3 310 330

in millions m3 Timber volume 1 160,0 Annual increase 31,4 Annual logging 19,8 Surplus 11,6

Tab. 2: Austrian forest inventory data

LIEBHARD_BENWOOD_Beijing 2010

Hydropower36%

Bioenergy51%

Other13%