Assessing and mapping biomass potential productivity from poplar-dominated riparian forests: A case study
Author(s)
Cartisano, Rosaria
Mattioli, Walter
Corona, Piermaria
Scarascia Mugnozza, Giuseppe
Sabatti, Maurizio
Date Issued
2013
Type
article
Abstract
River systems are subjected to continuous physical changes as a result of their sediment
transport. River dynamics is mainly determined by the seasonal variation of weather
conditions and, together with the nature of the catchment and land management, affects
flow patterns on a local scale. Riparian vegetation is well adapted to this periodical disturbance.
It naturally regenerates on the new mineral soil created by the redistribution of river
sediments during floods, playing an important role in the maintenance of streams and
riverbanks stability. The high level of resilience and productivity of riparian tree species like
Populus, contributes to the rapid biomass accumulation of riparian vegetation making these
ecosystems of potential interest for biomass production for energy. This paper presents an
operational methodology for investigating the biomass potential from riparian forests by
coupling airborne laser scanning data and field survey. A case study on assessing and
mapping biomass dynamics over a seventeen year period along a tract on the Paglia river, in
Central Italy, is presented and discussed. The results highlight that the surface of the poplardominated
riparian vegetation has significantly changed over the 1989e2006 period. More
than 70 ha of new poplar forest were naturally regenerated during the analyzed period. The
total amount of aboveground woody biomass of the riparian forest at the second inventory
occasion has been estimated in 88 Mg ha!1, evidencing a large amount of technically available
resources for bioenergy production (around 80% of the standing woody biomass). The innovative
strategy here proposed to assess and map at a very high spatial resolution the
abovegroundwoody biomass of riparian forest meets the monitoring requirements to support
energy production based on modern, non-conventional biomass harvest planning options.
Citation
Cartisano, R. et al. 2013. Assessing and mapping biomass potential productivity from poplar-dominated riparian forests: A case study. "Biomass and bioenergy" 54: 293-302
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