RESPONSES TO DIFFERENT LEVELS OF FLOODING IN WILLOWS (SALIX SPP)

CERRILLO TERESA; DOFFO, GUILLERMO; RODRÍGUEZ MARÍA EMILIA; LUQUEZ, VIRGINIA

Berlín

Congreso; International Poplar Comission - 25th session. Poplars and other fast-growing trees. Renewable resources for future green economies; 2016

German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

In the next decades, there will be an increased demand of biomass for energy from willows (Salix spp). To meet these demands, plantations need to be established in marginal areas not used in agriculture, like flood-prone lowland areas. Climate change will increase the frequency of extreme rain events, causing flash flooding episodes, so it is important to breed willow clones that can survive these conditions. For willows plantations, the establishment phase is a crucial point, when the vulnerability to stresses is higher because the cuttings are still developing a root system. A flooding episode during this early period can have a negative effect upon plants. In this work, we analyzed the responses of eight willows genotypes to flooding. Most clones were used as parents in breeding programs developed by INTA, in consequence is important to know their response to flooding.