PosterFast-growing tree species planted as short rotation coppice (SRC) may provide multiple ecosystem services, particularly in agroforestry systems, such as wind and soil erosion control, soil fertility protection, carbon sequestration, increasing landscape structural richness and biodiversity, on top of supplying a renewable source of biomass and energy. In the federal state of Brandenburg, NE Germany, a large proportion of the arable land is characterized by sandy soils and relatively shallow groundwater levels of 1–2 m. Besides, precipitation during the growing season is typically scarce (? 300 mm). Therefore, a deep-rooting, woody plant cover in SRC systems may sustain dry spells with only minor or no reductions in yield and additionally offer benefits to adjacent annual crops. However, the productivity of SRC may vary greatly depending on soil type, nutrient and soil water availability.
We studied water use and productivity of willow and poplar trees in SRC plantations in northeastern Brandenburg in relation to soil water availability, atmospheric conditions and stand structure on sites with gradients in groundwater depth. Water use was measured directly as xylem sap flow on up to 20 trees per site and species. Daily water use of poplar and willow shoots averaged over the growing season was 0.4–8.7 and 0.2–3.1 kg d-1, respectively, for trees aged 3–5 years. Water use was reduced on drier sites during summer drought. Preliminary results for the water use efficiency, the amount of woody aboveground biomass produced per kg of water used, ranged from 1.2 to 10 (poplar) and from 4 to 13 g kg-1 (willow shoots). The diameter increment of trees with access to groundwater lasted up to 7 weeks longer than for trees without access to groundwater. These and further results will be discussed in terms of water availability and tree and stand structure
