Short rotation coppice as alternative land use for Chernobyl-contaminated areas of Belarus

Field experiments were conducted in the Chernobyl-affected area to assess if short rotation coppice (SRC) for energy production is a feasible alternative for contaminated land. Four willow clones were planted on sandy and peaty soil and the radiocaesium (¹³⁷Cs) and radiostrontium (⁹⁰Sr) transfer factors (TF) and yield relevant parameters were recorded during four growing seasons. The ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁰Sr soil-to-willow wood TF on sandy soil (second growing season) were on average 1.40 ± 1.06 × 10^-3 m² kg^-1 and 130 ± 74 × 10^-3 m² kg^-1, respectively. The ¹³⁷Cs TF recorded for the peaty soil (fourth growing season or end of the first rotation cycle) was on average 5.17 ± 1.59 × 10 ^-3 m² kg^-1. The ⁹⁰Sr-TF was on average 2.61 ± 0.44 × 10^-3 m² kg ^-1. No significant differences between clones for the ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁰Sr-TF were observed. Given the high TFs and the high deposition levels, Belarus exemption levels for fuel wood were highly exceeded. The annual average biomass production for one rotation cycle on the peaty soil ranged from 7.8 to 16.0 t ha^-1 y^-1 for one of the clones, comparable with average annual yield figures obtained for western Europe. On the sandy soils, first-year yields were 0.25 t ha^-1 y ^-1. These soils are not suitable for SRC production and should better be dedicated to pine forests or drought-resistant grasses.