2. Materials and method
The Authors considered two poplar short rotation coppices and
a maize crop, comparing their energetic, environmental and social
suitability for biomass production, being aware that maize energy
crops are in competition with food production.
2.1. Field crop characteristics
Data were collected in the fields of the experimental farm
“MEZZI”, close to Casale Monferrato (AL), during the 2007e2013
period. Five hectares of SRC, 5 ha of vSRC and 4 ha of maize were
surveyed.
A starting density of 6700 plants per hectare (3.00 0.50 m
spacing) was present in the vSRC plantation and the harvest was
carried out every 2 years [22]. For the SRC plantation, instead, the
starting poplar density was 1100 plants per hectare (3.00 3.00 m
spacing) with one harvest at the end of the cultivation cycle, 6 years
long [23].
The sowing density of the maize was 74,000 seeds per hectare
and the biomass harvest was done at the end of each year cycle [24].
Since each crop has a different duration cycle, a 6 years period
was considered (1 SRC, 3 vSRC and 6 maize cycles).