Poplar and willow have potential for multiple uses beyond bioenergy and wastewater management. These trees can be used for riparian buffers, to improve water quality, as wildlife habitat, and can provide ecosystem services while being grown for bioenergy feedstocks. In addition, certification programs, which are becoming more common for typical forest plantations are also in development for poplar and willow when grown as short rotation woody crops. We will discuss how ecosystem services can be better implemented into certification programs to support a sustainable bioenergy and bioproduct industry.
This project is supported by an Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. 2011-68005-30407 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).