Ülle Püttsepp, Krista Lõhmus, Andres Koppel. (2007). Decomposition of fine roots and α-cellulose in a short rotation willow (Salix spp.) plantation on abandoned agricultural land. Silva Fennica vol. 41 no. 2 article id 294. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.294

Keywords: decomposition; α-cellulose; fine roots; acid detergent lignin; short rotation forest; Salix spp.

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Decomposition of fine roots (<1 mm in diameter) of the clones of Salix viminalis, S. dasyclados and α-cellulose sheets (50 x 10 x 1 mm) was studied in a 6-years old Salix spp. plantation established on abandoned agricultural land in Estonia. The substrates were incubated in litterbags (mesh size 0.14 mm) in 5–10 cm topsoil, in non-fertilised plots for one year. Changes in the ash-free weight of the fine roots were best described by negative exponential models (S. viminalis R² = 0.98, S. dasyclados R² = 0.96), and by a linear model for α-cellulose (R² = 0.63). The sheets of α-cellulose decomposed roughly twice as rapidly as the fine roots (S. viminalis k = 0.325, S. dasyclados k = 0.165). The remaining (of the initial) ash-free weights of the fine roots were 73.3 ± 0.8% (mean ± SE) and 85.8 ± 2.2% respectively, and of the α-cellulose 35.9 ± 8.5%, in the end of the one year of decomposition. The amount of acid detergent (AD) lignin in the fine-roots of S. viminalis increased significantly and did not change in S. dasyclados, suggesting higher activity of microbial decomposers in the first substrate. Of the studied quality parameters, the AD lignin was the major factor determining the different rate of decomposition of the fine roots of S. viminalis and S. dasyclados. Nitrogen was recycled in the fine root sub-system in both Salix species. This knowledge can be applied in the management of Salix plantations, aimed at bioenergy production.

Püttsepp, Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7072, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden; Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreuzwaldi 64, Tartu 51014, Estonia E-mail: ulle.puttsepp@ekol.slu.se
Lõhmus, Institute of Geography, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, Tartu 51014, Estonia E-mail: kl@nn.ee
Koppel, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreuzwaldi 64, Tartu 51014, Estonia E-mail: ak@nn.ee

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