Timothy A. Volk1, L. P. Abrahamson1, T. Buchholz2,

J. Caputo1, and M. Eisenbies1

1 College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, U. S.A.
2Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, University of Vermont, and Spatial Informatics Group,

LLC, U. S.A.

12.1 Introduction

According to the U. S. Billion Ton Update (BT2) [1]), a federal investigation into the feasibility of replacing 30% of petroleum feedstocks with renewable biomass, perennial energy crops are projected to provide as much as 61% of the potential biomass in the United States by 2030 under the most favorable set of scenarios (highyield, $60 a ton price, 4% energy crop yield increases). The objective is to grow these crops on marginal agricultural and abandoned land to minimize the impact on production of other agricultural crops and to provide landowners with alternative crops and income from these areas. The northeast United States is well suited to production of perennial energy crops because there are large amounts of marginal agricultural land and reclaimed land. Studies indicate that there are over 2.8 million ha of idle or surplus low-cost agricultural land [2] and 0.5 million ha of disturbed mine land available for deploying perennial energy crops in the northeast [3]. Both woody [e. g., willow (Salix spp.) and hybrid poplar (Populus spp.)] and herbaceous perennial energy crops [e. g., switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), Miscanthus] have been identified as potential perennial energy crops on this land base.

Interest in shrub willows as a perennial energy crop for production of biomass has developed in Europe and North America over the past few decades because of concerns with energy security, environmental impact associated with the current mix of fossil fuels,

Cellulosic Energy Cropping Systems, First Edition. Edited by Douglas L. Karlen. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

and economic challenges in rural areas. When deployed properly across the landscape, willow biomass crops can provide multiple environmental and rural development benefits [4-6], while providing a locally grown source of biomass that can be converted into a range of bioenergy, biofuels and bioproducts.

Initial trials with shrub willows as a biomass crop were conducted in the mid-1970s in Sweden and in the United States starting in 1986 [7]. Commercial expansion started in Sweden in the late 1980s and accelerated rapidly for several years because of favorable policies supporting biomass crop establishment. By the late 1990s, the acreage in Sweden had peaked at around 16 000 ha but since that time it has decreased slightly to about 14 000 ha of willow biomass crops [8-10]. An additional 18 500 ha of willow and poplar woody energy crops have been established in Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom [10].

Since the first research projects were initiated in upstate New York, U. S.A., in the mid-1980s, yield trials have been conducted or are underway in 15 states and six Cana­dian provinces, so that now over 500 ha of commercial scale willow biomass crops have been established. In addition to studies on potential yields of different varieties of willow across a range of sites, research has also been done on various aspects of the production cycle, including nutrient amendments and cycling, alternative tillage practices, incorpo­rating cover crops into these systems, spacing and density studies, harvesting systems development, growth characteristics important for biomass production, use of willow plan­tations by birds, changes in soil micro arthropod communities under willow, changes in soil carbon, economics of the production system, and life cycle assessments of willow bioen­ergy systems. In addition, a breeding and selection program for shrub willows has been developed and is producing improved varieties of willow for both the biomass production and agroforestry markets [11]. Results from this and other initiatives in North America and Europe have provided a base from which to begin to expand and deploy willow biomass crops.

The most recent development in the commercialization of willow biomass crops in North America has been the establishment in 2012 of a biomass crop assistance program (BCAP) project area in northern New York State [12]. BCAP is a U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiative intended to promote wide-scale deployment of biomass cropping and utilization, established in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P. L. 110-234, Sec. 9011). Under this program almost 500 ha of willow biomass crops will be managed for at least ten years. This program provides cost share support from the USDA for the establishment of willow biomass crops and an annual rental payment for land that is used to produce these crops. Long-term agreements are in place for the sale of all of the biomass produced from these fields to an end user in the region that is generating electricity and heat using wood chips. This program addressed some key barriers to the deployment of willow, including reducing upfront costs associated with establishing willow biomass crops and providing a secure long-term market for the biomass that is produced.