Click on “Download PDF” for the PDF version or on the title for the HTML version.

If you are not an ASABE member or if your employer has not arranged for access to the full-text, Click here for options.

Abstract.

Profitable utilization of woody residues from the excelsior industry is an on-going challenge. About 50% of the wood log feedstock ends up as finished products with the remaining 50% becoming residue. Biochar production from the woody residue has the potential to generate income for the industry through biochar sales for soil amendment and water filtration materials. On-site pyrolysis has the added advantage of providing bio-energy to the excelsior processing facility. The objectives of this study are to evaluate the potential of adding pyrolysis to the excelsior production process and the potential of excelsior residue-derived biochar as a soil amendment for hybrid poplar growth in an agroforestry setting. Parameters for the hybrid poplar growth study included three levels of biochar application (0, 10 and 20 ton ha^-1), and two levels of irrigation based on measured reference evapotranspiration (ETos) (75 and 100 % ETos). On 5 May 2017, single 25-cm hybrid poplar OP-367 cuttings were planted into 25 kg of un-amended sandy loam soil with 3 pots per plot (treatment) with 4 replications. Soil samples were analyzed for soil pH, EC and nutrients prior to the start of the study and after the first growing season. The cuttings were watered at a 100% ETos level until shoots started developing, then the treatments were applied. Leaf samples were collected in mid-August 2017 for tissue analysis. Soil moisture content was recorded daily over the growing season. The trial is being continued for a second season in 2018.