%0 Research article
%T Decomposition of fine roots and α-cellulose in a short rotation willow (Salix spp.) plantation on abandoned agricultural land
%A Püttsepp, Ülle
%A Lõhmus, Krista
%A Koppel, Andres
%D 2007
%J Silva Fennica
%V 41
%N 2
%R doi:10.14214/sf.294
%U https://silvafennica.fi/article/294
%X Decomposition of fine roots (&lt;1 mm in diameter) of the clones of  Salix viminalis, S. dasyclados and α-cellulose sheets (50 x 10 x 1 mm)  was studied in a 6-years old Salix spp. plantation established on  abandoned agricultural land in Estonia. The substrates were incubated in  litterbags (mesh size 0.14 mm) in 5–10 cm topsoil, in non-fertilised  plots for one year. Changes in the ash-free weight of the fine roots  were best described by negative exponential models (S. viminalis R<sup>2</sup> = 0.98, S. dasyclados R<sup>2</sup> = 0.96), and by a linear model for α-cellulose (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.63). The sheets of α-cellulose decomposed roughly twice as rapidly  as the fine roots (S. viminalis k = 0.325, S. dasyclados k = 0.165). The  remaining (of the initial) ash-free weights of the fine roots were  73.3 ± 0.8% (mean ± SE) and 85.8 ± 2.2% respectively, and of the   α-cellulose 35.9 ± 8.5%, in the end of the one year of decomposition.  The amount of acid detergent (AD) lignin in the fine-roots of S.  viminalis increased significantly and did not change in S. dasyclados,  suggesting higher activity of microbial decomposers in the first  substrate. Of the studied quality parameters, the AD lignin was the  major factor determining the different rate of decomposition of the fine  roots of S. viminalis and S. dasyclados. Nitrogen was recycled in the  fine root sub-system in both Salix species. This knowledge can be  applied in the management of Salix plantations, aimed at bioenergy  production.