RNGR.net is sponsored by the USDA Forest Service and Southern Regional Extension Forestry and is a colloborative effort between these two agencies.

U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA Forest Service Southern Regional Extension Forestry Southern Regional Extension Forestry

Skip to content. | Skip to navigation

Home → Publications → Tree Planters' Notes → Tree Planters' Notes Volume 54, Number 2 (2011) → Evidence for Nitrogen-Fixation in the Salicaceae Family

Evidence for Nitrogen-Fixation in the Salicaceae Family

von Wuehlisch, G. Tree Planters' Notes 54(2):38-41. 2011.

It has been shown that poplars and willows are able to produce high amounts of biomass even at low soil nutrient levels and that the application of nitrogen (N) fertilizers typically results in little or no increase in growth. Poplars growing in rocks and gravel in their native riparian habitat were well supplied with N despite low soil N availability. In different poplar and willow individuals, diverse endophytic bacteria were identified, including a diazotrophic species in which molecular nitrogenfixation (N2 -fixation) could be verified. Most fast-growing Populus and Salix species will fix N2 . These findings provide a greater understanding on the Salicaceae family with respect to sustainability of biomass production at low-input energy levels.


Download this file:

PDF document Download this file — PDF document, 740Kb

Details

Author(s): Georg von Wuehlisch

Publication: Tree Planters' Notes - Volume 54, Number 2 (2011)

Volume: 54

Number: 2