Poplars and other fast growing tree species in Germany: Report of the National Poplar Commission. 2016-2019

Every four years, the National Poplar Commissions report on the progress of the International Poplar Commission IPC, one of the oldest, firmly established organizations of the FAO (Organization for Food and Agriculture of the United Nations). The reports will be collected and published for the 26th session of the International Poplar Commission in Rome in October 2020. For Germany, the Thünen Institute for Forest Genetics is compiling the report on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. With the reform of the poplar commission, the range of tree species was expanded to include fast-growing tree species in the reporting period. In addition to poplars and willows, Germany has decided to add hybrid larch and black locust for the time being. Based on the numbers from the Federal Forest Inventory (2012), the area with fast growing trees can be estimated as follows: poplars 147,000 ha (approx. 17,000 ha natural regenerated and 130,000 ha planted), willows 75,000 ha (natural regenerated), hybrid larch 3,000 ha (planted), and black locust 42,000 ha (planted). The current cultivation of poplars and willows is largely limited to short rotation coppice plantations (SRC). Several factors are responsible for this: attractive alternative crops, in particular maize cultivation for biogas, combined with the extensive ban on the conversion of grassland as well as a lack of impetus from the Greening Regulation passed at EU level in 2014. The total SRC surface in Germany is currently stagnating at 7,000 hectares. During the reporting period, two poplar clones were approved in the category "tested". 13 further poplar clones were proposed for preliminary approval for the use of biomass production in short rotation due to their significant superiority in the biomass characteristic. Furthermore, the recommendation was made to approve of family parents for the production of forest reproductive material from 2 Populus tremula combinations was made. A total of 13 research projects and ten joint research projects (with together 33 projects), carried out at 22 institutions on genetics and breeding, cultivation, physiology, resistance of poplars and willows as well as wood utilisation were funded by third parties and have been included in the report. Also, 90 publications are listed in the report.