an experience of creation artificial short rotation coppice willow plantations on wetlands after peat mining

The area of drained lands after peat mining in Russia is about 1 million ha and in Belarus 200 thousand ha. The lands after peat mining have poor fertility and different environmental characteristics. Successful forest planting on this lands are limited by high acidity, low depth and decomposition of peat layer and bad availability of mineral nutrients. One of the perspective directions is creation of short rotation coppice plantations of trees, such as willow, poplar and black alder. The wood of those trees may be used as a renewable source of energy. The purpose of our experiments was to estimate an efficiency of creation short rotation willow coppice plantations on the lands after peat mining. Experiments were conducted in Grodno Oblast of the Republic of Belarus. Experimental plots were planted on four types of soils with different layer and decomposition of peat and different agrochemical characteristics. Willow plants on the plots with shallow peat layer with bad peat decomposition were growing slowly and the height of plants after three years (the time of harvesting) was about 2–2.5 m. Height of willow plants on the plots with deep peat layer and with good decomposition and structure of peat after three years was 4–4.5 m. The yield of wood from these plots was 9–10 ton per ha per year in dry matter calculation. This yield was not much lower with compare to yield of willow on mineral soils. The wood from plantations (10 ha of area) were using by peat factory as a renewable biomass for energy. It is possible to increase yield of willow on the base of introduction species, which are adapted to wetlands like Salix dasyclados Wimm. The productivity of Salix dasyclados in our experiments was higher to compare to Salix viminalis L., which usually is used for selection of fast growing clones. The acidity of wetlands decreased on 0.30–1.05 pH after application of 10 tons of peat and it amounted to 5.95–6.25 pH in depends of variant.