The investigation of morphological characteristics of willow species in different environmental conditions

Alternative or renewable energy is a modern strategy with a good per­spective in the nearest future. There are several directions of renewable energy development that depend on climatic, economic and technological opportunities of a region. The perspective choice for areas with moderate climate is bioenergy. One of the bioenergy directions is agro forestry based on short rotation coppice plantations (SRC) of trees, like willow, poplar and others. The goal of experiments was the assessment of the potential of different willow species for the obtaining of energy in two climatic zones and on two types of soils of Belarus. For this purpose several morphological characteristics were metered: height of plants, biomass, diameter and number of sprouts. The field experiments were conducted on two types of soils: post-mining peaty soils in Grodno region and on degraded peaty soils in Brest region of Belarus. The same soils are very problematic for growing of traditional agricultural crops, thus willow production is a good alternative for biomass production of energy as well as for the reclamation of these soils. In our experiments the following species of willow were tested (Salix alba, Salix viminalis, Salix dasyclados, Salix aurita) that may grow on peaty soils at the natural conditions. The most popular species for modern selection of SRC of willow is Salix viminalis. Nevertheless, the most suitable morphological characteristics on post-mining peaty soils were established for plants of Salix dasyclados and on degraded peaty soils for the plants of Salix alba. The unfavorable parameters at the both type of soils were identified for the plants of Salix aurita. However, it is necessary to take into account that the used species are more popular for natural wetlands and in our experiments plants have best results of survival of cutting and rates of growth at the beginning of vegetation. In accordance with these facts Salix aurita may not be used for energy plantation directly, but it is interesting for hybridization with other species. Our results have shown that perspective hybrids for peaty soils may be for instance Salix aurita x Salix dasyclados and Salix aurita x Salix alba