An estimation of hybrid poplar clones productivity in

northwestern QuebecAbhishek M. Tripathi1*, Andréanne Desormeaux2 Annie DesRochers1

1Institut de Recherche sur les forêts, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, 341 Rue Principale Nord, Amos, Québec, Canada, J9T 2L7; 2Étudiante au baccalauréat en écologie, Faculté des sciences, Université de Sherbrooke 2500, Sherbrooke,

Quebec, Canada J1K 2R1; *Corresponding author email: tria02@uqat.ca/manicfre@gmail.com

Introduction

Fast growing trees cultivations are often managed in two

ways (i) high forest (rotation length 20-25 years) or (ii)

short rotation coppice (SRC; 2-8 years rotation),

plantations, depending on the utilization of woods.

Because of multiuse and high demand of poplars

worldwide, there is a need to test growth and productivity

of clones under intensive silviculture management and

under boreal climatic conditions. We hypothesized that

tree spacing and site quality can affect aboveground

biomass production of poplar clones.

Materials and Methods

Aims of the study

• To develop a model to estimate the aboveground

biomass of hybrid poplar clones

• To estimate the impact of clones and spacing on

aboveground biomass mass production in high forest

plantations

Table 1 : Climatic conditions of research sites and design of hybrid

poplar plantations

Results

Note: 747215 (P. trichocarpa Torrey & A.Gray × P. balsamifera L.); 915004 and 915005 (P. balsamifera × P. maximowiczii Henry) and 915319

(P. maximowiczii × P. balsamifera).

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1X4 2X4 3X4 1X4 2X4 3X4 1X4 2X4 3X4 1X4 2X4 3X4 1X4 2X4 3X4 1X4 2X4 3X4 1X4 2X4 3X4 1X4 2X4 3X4 1X4 2X4 3X4 1X4 2X4 3X4 1X4 2X4 3X4 1X4 2X4 3X4

747215 915004 915005 915319 747215 915004 915005 915319 747215 915004 915005 915319

Villebois Duparquet Duhamel

To

tal a

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ve

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un

db

iom

ass

tha

-1T

ota

l b

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on

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-1

To

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-1

9150

05

7472

15

9150

04

9153

19

Site

Villebo

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et

Duh

amel

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-1

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Spacing

1X4 2X4 3X4

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Clones

0

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80

Conclusions

• Maximum aboveground biomass maybe be produced in high density forest

plantations.

• Farmlands could significantly contribute in high aboveground biomass

production.

• The clone 915319 could be high productive clone in our climatic conditions.

• Total/annual aboveground biomass may depend on sites and clones.

• For better and precise results there is a need to continue research with many

clones and sites in different silviculture practice management.

AcknowledgementsWe acknowledge the Groupement Forestier Cooperatif

Abitibi and NSERC, Canada for providing us financial

support to carried out hybrid poplars research in Canada.

Figure 2: Dynamics of total aboveground biomass of hybrid poplar clones after 12 years of growth in a high forest at different sites under different

spacing in northwestern Quebec, Canada

D2

.H

0 2000 4000 6000 8000

To

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d b

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t h

a-1

)

0

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Clone 747215

Clone 747215

CLone 915004

CLone 915004

CLone 915005

CLone 915005

CLone 915319

CLone 915319

Clone Equation (f=a*x^b)R2

747215 0.0445*x 0̂.8697 0.98

915004 3.5539*x 0̂.2746 0.42

915005 0.0911*x 0̂.7555 0.65

915319 0.0383*x 0̂.9087 0.95

Figure 1: An allometric relation between total aboveground biomass

and diameter at breast height (D) and tree height (H)

Figure 3: Impact of sites, hybrid poplar

clones and spacing on total aboveground

biomass after 12 years of growth

Total aboveground biomass after 12- years of

hybrid poplar tree growth in different clones

Clone Biomass (t tree-1)

747215 21.16

915004 30.21

915005 31.03

915319 40.99

Hybrid poplars in a high forest in northwestern Quebec, Canada