Biomass Yield of Short-Rotation Platanus Species in Greece

Abstract

Short-rotation and intensive culture of American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis L.) has gained considerable interest since its inception by McAlpine et al (1966). The system calls for plantations by seedlings or cuttings in close spacing, which can be harvested by machines repeatedly on cycles of 3 to 5 years. After each harvest, of the above-ground portions of the trees, the stumps remain intact and resprout, thus regenerating the plantation. This process can be repeated 4–5 times and then should start by new planting all over again. It is difficult to define close spacing, because so many alternatives have been suggested, but as it comes out from the published data, any arrangement that provides less than one square meter of growing space to each stool is very close (Steinbeck 1980). The trend, in American short-rotation forestry research, is towards longer rotations and wider spacings.