Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
15.4.2.2 europe
Europe obviously has a long rich history of poplar plantations. Notably much of the European
interest in poplar came when European explorers returned from North America with handsome
poplar specimens that they subsequently planted in their gardens. Spontaneous hybrids that resulted
gave rise to poplars known as “intercontinental” or “Canadian” poplars. Another popular European
introduction was the “Carolina” poplar—a cottonwood from southeast United States (FAO 1980;
Dickmann 2006). The new poplar hybrids were first planted along waterways and roadways.
Remarkably Claude Monet, the French impressionist painter, loved poplars and became a poplar
plantation owner in 1891 when his favorite poplar models depicted in his famous “Poplars” series
were about to be cut by the village (Tucker 1989). The “Euramerican” poplars, a natural hybrid of
P. deltoides,
and
P. nigra
(now known as
P
. c
anadensis)
, were planted widely throughout Europe
between 1900 and World War II (FAO 1980).
An important milestone in the advancement of European poplar culture was the establishment
of the Instituto Sperimentazione Pioppicoltura at Casale Monferrato, Italy, during World War II
(Dickmann 2006). This institute, still active today, was involved in creating many new poplar clones
(such as I-214) and development of poplar culture. The clones produced in Casale were planted
throughout Europe and are still widely planted throughout the world. Another important European
milestone was the founding of the International Poplar Commission (IPC) in 1947 in Rome under
the auspices of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (Pourtet 1976; Viart
1976). This organization also exists today with a mission to promote all aspects of poplar culture for
improving rural livelihoods worldwide. In recent years, the IPC is becoming more active in promot-
ing the uses of poplars for bioenergy.
After WW II, there was a revival of breeding and growing poplars in Europe albeit for con-
ventional wood products. Poplar breeding began in the United Kingdom in the early 20th century
(Henry 1914), but breeding programs took some time to evolve (Schreiner 1959). Pauley (1949) and
Muhle-Larsen (1970) reviewed advances in poplar breeding in Europe. There were many active pop-
lar breeding programs/breeders in Italy (Piccarolo), Netherlands (Koster), Belgium (Steenackers),
Germany (Weisberger), and Spain (FAO 1980). Most of these breeders actively cooperated with
North American breeders in the exchange of information and materials.
Thousands of hectares were planted to poplars in the ensuing years in Europe. According to the
IPC (FAO 2008), there are currently 236,000 ha of poplar plantations in France, 118,500 ha in Italy,
100,000 ha in Germany, 98,500 ha in Spain, and thousands of hectares in other countries such as
Croatia and Romania. Many of these plantations were planted in the 1950s and 1960s.
Short rotation plantations of poplar for pulp and paper and for bioenergy did not become popular
in Europe until after the OPEC oil embargo of 1973. Avanzo (1974) promoted the genetic improve-
ment of poplars for biomass harvests in Italy. The bibliographic review of international research on
“short rotation forests” detailed widespread interest in growing poplars on short rotations in Europe
and worldwide (Louden 1976).
In Europe, poplars have been largely grown at wide spacings for timber and traditional wood
products in modern times. Notably, FAO (1980) made little mention of the use of poplars for energy
except in some eastern countries where poplars were grown for fuelwood. In the 1960s, this tradi-
tion began to change toward growing poplars at close spacings and on shorter rotations. The goal
was to produce more wood per unit of land area in a shorter time frame for wood fiber and energy
(Mitchell et al. 1992). Eastern European countries embraced short rotations very early. Markovic
et al. (2000) reported short rotation poplar test plantations as early as 1960 with many poplar
clones and varieties and many spacings and cutting cycles. Marosvolgyi et al. (1999) reported long
term studies of poplars for bioenergy in Hungary. European biomass studies differed from North
American in that more poplar species and species hybrids were tested, and coppicing was early on
accepted as a means of increasing poplar biomass production per hectare. Avanzo (1974) reported
tests of 600
P. deltoides
clones, 148 clones of
P. nigra
, and 73 D × N hybrids for biomass production
