Bio-energy

One of the strategies for the mitigation of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions is the use of bio-energy as a replacement for fossil fuels. The use of biomass crops – such as fast-growing woody crops under short rotation coppice (SRC) regimes – is probably the most suited bio-energy source in the EU. The PLECO research group has a long standing experience (since 1975) with the study of SRC with poplar (Populus) and willow (Salix) as a model man-made ecosystem. We combine large-scale field experiments with modeling and theoretical analyses (i) to study the carbon and greenhouse gas balance, (ii) to make up a full energy balance, (iii) to perform a full life cycle analysis of the global warming contribution of bio-energy.