William L. Headlee

Biochar as a substitute for vermiculite in potting mix for hybrid poplar

The purpose of this study was to evaluate biochar as a substitute for vermiculite in potting mixes for unrooted vegetative cuttings of hybrid poplar as represented by the clone ‘NM6’ (Populus nigra L. × Populus suaveolens Fischer subsp. maximowiczii A. Henry). We compared three treatments (peat moss (control), peat moss mixed with vermiculite, and peat moss mixed with biochar) at three times (pre-experiment, pre-fertilizer, and post-fertilizer). The biochar and vermiculite mixes had significantly higher cation exchange capacity (CEC) and pre-experiment exchangeable K than the control. Trees grown in the biochar and vermiculite mixes had significantly higher shoot K than the control at pre-fertilizer and post-fertilizer and significantly higher shoot and total biomass at post-fertilizer. The biochar mix was also associated with lower root biomass and higher shoot/root biomass ratio than the vermiculite mix at post-fertilizer. Vector analysis indicated that all treatments were deficient in N at pre-fertilizer, and the control was also deficient in K at pre-fertilizer and post-fertilizer. Linear regression confirmed that shoot biomass was strongly correlated (R2 = 0.97) with N and K uptake (in addition to initial cutting diameter), also, root biomass was strongly correlated (R2 = 0.96) with potting mix CEC (in addition to shoot biomass). Luxury consumption of K at pre-fertilizer indicates that the increases in shoot and total biomass observed with the biochar and vermiculite treatments arise from this nutrient being “pre-loaded” in both mixes. We conclude that biochar provides benefits equivalent to vermiculite in terms of key nutrient availability and total biomass productivity.

Developing woody crops for the enhancement of ecosystem services under changing climates in the north central United States

Short rotation woody crops belonging to the genera Populus L., Salix L., Pinus L., and Eucalyptus LHer. have provided broad economic and ecological benefits throughout the world, including afforestation and reforestation along urban to rural gradients. Within the genus Populus, cottonwoods, poplars, aspens, and their hybrids (hereafter referred to as poplars) have been shown to exhibit favorable genotype × environment interactions, especially in the face of changing climates. Similar growth responses have been reported for Pinus, especially with white pine (Pinus strobus L.) in the North Central United States. This has led to current research priorities focused on ecosystem services for both genera. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) defines cultural, supporting, provisioning, and regulating ecosystem services. The overarching objective of this paper was to synthesize information about the potential of poplars to provide multiple ecosystem services when grown at sites with varying soil and climate conditions across landscape gradients from urban to rural areas. Specific objectives included: 1) providing background of the United States Forest Service and its Research and Development branch, 2) integrating knowledge of current poplar breeding and development with biomass provisioning and carbon regulating ecosystem services as they relate to changing climates in the North Central United States, and 3) providing a case study illustrating this integration through comparisons of poplar with white pine. Our results were evaluated in the context of climate change mitigation, with specific focus on selection of favorable genotypes for sequestering atmospheric carbon and reducing fossil fuel carbon emissions.

Biomass Fly Ash as Foliar Fertilizer for Hybrid Aspen Trees: Nutrient Uptake, Growth Response, and Compatibility with Nitrogen Fertilizer

Biomass ash is an important and potentially useful by-product of the bioenergy industry. As a “proof of concept” for using biomass fly ash as a foliar fertilizer, we tested (i) whether the nutrients in the ash were absorbed by hybrid aspen trees, (ii) whether the ash affected tree growth, and (iii) whether the ash was compatible with nitrogen foliar fertilizer. Four foliar treatments (water [control], ash suspended in water, nitrogen fertilizer solution, and ash suspended in nitrogen fertilizer solution) were evaluated. Several nutrients in the fly ash were absorbed by hybrid aspen both in the greenhouse and in the field; however, this absorption did not significantly affect tree growth in either setting. Nitrogen fertilization was associated with significantly higher tree growth in the greenhouse; inclusion of the fly ash with the nitrogen fertilizer solution did not significantly alter this growth response.

Coarse root biomass and architecture of hybrid aspen ‘Crandon’ (Populus alba L. × P. grandidenta Michx.) grown in an agroforestry system in central Iowa, USA

ABSTRACT In this study, we evaluated ‘Crandon’ coarse root biomass and architecture grown at different topographic positions and fertilizer rates. Complete excavations were conducted on a subset of trees after the first growing season and showed that root biomass was strongly related to stem biomass (R2 = 0.93), but not topographic position or fertilizer rate. After the third growing season, subsamples of roots were collected from another subset of trees and showed coarse root architecture variables to be strongly related to several metrics of the tree and root size (R2 = 0.61 to 0.82), while also differing by topographic position. Equations relating root biomass to stem biomass were derived from both methodologies (complete excavation v. subsampling for architecture measurements), and comparison of the equations indicated no difference in slopes (p = 0.59) or intercepts (p = 0.90), although the subsampling approach had a weaker model fit. Our results suggest ‘Crandon’ roots (i) adhere to strong allometric relationships with stem biomass, (ii) alter their architecture within the constraints of this allometric relationship according to site conditions, and (iii) can be subsampled to estimate root biomass from root architecture parameters with similar accuracy (but less precision) compared to complete excavations.