INTRODUCTION

The main objective of this experiment is to determine the functional responses of a cultivated, agro-forestry system, namely a multiclonal poplar plantation, to actual and future atmospheric CO2 concentrations.

In detail, the following tasks will be carried out:

    •Coordination of a trans-European research effort in the field of global change interactions with a forest plantation ecosystem.

    •Improvement of existing Free Air CO2 Enrichment facility and granting access to a wider scientific community.
    •Development of remote sensing technology to assess water consumption and energy balance of plantation forestry systems under present and future climatic conditions.
    •Evaluation the amount of carbon being sequestered in the biomass and in the soil of intensive bio-energy forest plantation in relation to various management regimes (coppice vs. single stem, fertilisation, species choice)
    •Assessment of relative contribution of increasing atmospheric levels of CO2 and N fertilisation on increased C sequestration in surplus arable land planted with woody crops.
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