Conference Reports - 12th Biennial

Short Rotation Woody Crops Operations Working Group Conference

July 23-25, 2018 Rhinelander, Wisconsin, USA

Pre-Conference Field Tours:

Host: Bernie McMahon, University of Minnesota – Natural Resources Research Institute (UN-NRRI)

Poplar Breeding and Development Program,

Minnesota Power Property
University of Minnesota North Central Research and Outreach Center
- Legacy Plantings
- Clonal Stool Beds and Preservation (Coppice)
- Progeny Trial

Pre-Conference Field Tours:

University of Minnesota – Natural Resources Research Institute (UN-NRRI)
USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Institute for Applied Ecosystem Studies, Rhinelander WI

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Plenary Sessions

Moderator: Jim Richardson, Poplar and Willow Council of Canada

Barb Thomas, Current Trends and Challenges in North American Poplar Breeding
Andrej Pilipović, Investigation of Phytoremediation Potential of Poplar and Willow Clones in Serbia: A Review

Moderator: Bill Headlee, University of Arkansas at Monticello, USA

Joris Van Acker, Potential for the Agricultural Sector to Produce Poplar Wood as Contribution to the Forestry Wood Industry Chain
Biljana Kulišić, Reaching Economic Feasibility of SRC Plantations by Monetarizing Ecosystem Services: Showcase Contribution of SRC to Long-term Ragweed Control in the City of Osijek, Croatia

Technical Sessions

Genetics and Physiology

Moderator: Raju Soolanayakanahally, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada

Carlos Gantz, Genetic parameter estimates for coppiced hybrid poplar bioenergy trials
Eric Fabio, Genetic and environmental effects on variability in first rotation shrub willow bark and wood elemental composition
Yue Hu, Is hybrid vigor possible in native balsam poplar breeding?
Jennifer Riehl, Uncovering the genetic architecture of growth-defense tradeoffs in a foundation forest tree species

Phytotechnologies

Moderator: Ian McIvor, Plant and Food Research, New Zealand

Ron Zalesny, The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative: Reducing runoff from landfills in the Great Lakes Basin, USA
Rich Hallett, Evaluating poplar genotypes for future success: Can phyto-recurrent selection assessment techniques be simplified?
Elizabeth Rogers, Survival and growth of poplars grown in soils amended with fibercake residuals from paper and containerboard production
Andrej Pilipović, Growth and physiological responses of three poplar clones grown on soils artificially contaminated with heavy metals, diesel fuel, and herbicides
Tim Volk, Changes in foliar nutrient status of shrub willow cultivars growing as an evapotranspiration cover on a former industrial site
Raju Soolanayakanahally, Mitigating the downstream effects of excess soil phosphorus through cultivar selection and increased foliar resorption
Ron Zalesny, Survival and growth of poplars and willows grown for phytoremediation of fertilizer residues

Stakeholders, Bioproducts, Harvesting and Logistics

Moderator: Brian Stanton, GreenWood Resources, USA

Noelle Hart, Stakeholder assessment of poplar’s feasibility as a feedstock and ecosystem services provider in rural Washington
Patricia Townsend, Barriers and opportunities for use of short-rotation poplar for the production of fuels and chemicals
Don Rockwood, Short rotation eucalypts: opportunities for bioproducts
Daniel de Souza, Variability of harvester performance depending on phenotypic attributes of short rotation willow crop in New York State
Obste Therasme, Cover protection affects fuel quality and natural drying of mixed leaf-on willow and poplar woodchip piles

Biomass Production

Moderator: Patricia Townsend, Washington State University, USA

Marzena Niemczyk, Growth patterns and productivity of hybrid aspen clones in northern Poland
Brian Stanton, The economics of rapid multiplication of elite hybrid poplar biomass varieties: expediting the delivery of genetic gains
Richard Shuren, The biomass production calculator: A decision tool for hybrid poplar feedstock producers and investors
Jesus Espinoza, AHB Growth and yield of hybrid poplar mono-varietal production blocks for biofuel production
Solomon Ghezehei Poplar productivity as affected by physiography and growing conditions in the southeastern USA
Scott Hillard, Hybrid poplar stock type impacts height, DBH, and estimated total dry weight at eight years in a hybrid poplar plantation network at multiple sites

Ecosystem Services

Moderator: Solomon Ghezehei, North Carolina State University, USA

Ian McIvor, Tree willow root growth in sediments varying in texture
Jules Cacho, Environmental benefits of shrub willow as bioenergy strips in an intensively managed agricultural system
Todd Rosenstiel, Quantifying the unknown: the importance of field measurements and genotype selection in mitigating the atmospheric impacts of poplar cultivation
Obste Therasme, Greenhouse gas and energy balance of willow biomass crops are impacted by prior land use and distance from end-users

Closing Remarks

Poster Session

Chung Ho Lin, Developing Phytoremediation Technology using Pseudomonas putida and Poplar for Restoring Petroleum-contaminated Sites
Amanda Foust, Comparison of Statistical Techniques for Evaluating Fiber Composition of Early Rotation Pine and Hardwood Trees for the Production of Cellulose
Rich Hallett, Freshkills Anthropogenic Succession Study: Phase I: Deer Cafeteria Study
Scott Hillard, Adapting an Aspen Short Rotation Yield Model to Represent Hybrid Poplar Yield for Regional Hybrid Poplar Production Estimation
Bill Headlee, Potential Biomass Production of Four Cottonwood Clones Planted at Two Densities in the Arkansas River Valley, USA
Neil Nelson, Growth Performance and Stability of Hybrid Poplar Clones in Simultaneous Tests on Six Sites in Minnesota, USA
Neil Nelson, Genetic Development, Evaluation, and Outreach for Establishing Hybrid Poplar Biomass Feedstock Plantations in the Midwestern United States
Elizabeth Rogers, Citizen Science in the Greenhouse: A Phytoremediation Case Study.