Yield Performance of Woody Crops on Marginal Agricultural Land in Latvia, Spain and Ukraine

Agricultural land abandonment due to biophysical and socioeconomic constraints is increasing across Europe. Meanwhile there is also an increase in bioenergy demand. This study assessed woody crop performance on several relevant types of marginal agricultural land in Europe, based on field experiments in Latvia, Spain and Ukraine. In Latvia, hybrid aspen was more productive than birch and alder species, and after eight years produced 4.8 Mg ha(-1) y(-1) on stony soil with sandy loam texture, when best clone and treatment combination was selected. In Spain, Siberian elm produced up to 7.1 Mg ha(-1) y(-1) on stony, sandy soil with low organic carbon content after three triennial rotations. In Ukraine, willow plantations produced a maximum of 10.8 Mg ha(-1) y(-1) on a soil with low soil organic carbon after second triennial rotation. The productivity was higher when management practices were optimized specifically to address the limiting factors of a site. Longer rotations and lower biomass yields compared to high-value land can be expected when woody crops are grown on similar marginal agricultural land shown in this study. Future studies should start here and investigate to what extent woody crops can contribute to rural development under these conditions.

Automated summary

This study assessed the performance of woody crops on marginal agricultural land in Latvia, Spain and Ukraine, finding that productivity can be increased with optimized management practices. However, longer rotations and lower biomass yields are expected when growing woody crops on similar marginal agricultural land compared to high-value land. Future research should investigate the extent to which woody crops can contribute to rural development under these conditions.