Forestry & Energy Review - Vol 4 Issue 2 Autumn/Winter 2014

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GENETIC IMPROVEMENT OF SYCAMORE

SHORT ROTATION FORESTRY

TIME FOR DIFFERENT THINKING

BY FUTURE TREES TRUST

FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY DEMANDS

ON DEER MANAGEMENT

>> SEE PAGE 44

>> SEE PAGE 32

>> SEE PAGE 26

Forestry&Energy Volume 4 Issue 2 Autumn/Winter 2014 Price €3.95. £2.95 (Stg)

R E V I E W

THE VOICE OF FORESTRY & RENEWABLE ENERGY

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Foreword/Contents/Credits

Forestry&Energy R E V I E W

Volume 4 Issue 2 Autumn/Winter 2014

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Foreword

22 APF 2014 – THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS

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elcome to the new edition of Forestry and Energy Review Magazine. In this Issue, Daryl Fahy outlines how ECC has grown from humble beginnings to become a leader in timber processing in Ireland under the expert guiding hand of PJ Fahy and his team.

Eucalyptus is coming of age… Brendan Doyle explains that by being sensible in site selection and species Eucalyptus can bring home the timber year after year Also, Paddy O’Toole and David Tyrrell, Quinns of Baltinglass report that Miscanthus can be a very worthwhile crop if planted and minded correctly, while Dr. Conor O’ Reilly (UCD), Dr. Brian Tobin (UCD) and Dr.Niall Farrelly (Teagasc) explore Short Rotation Forestry.

As the profile of Ireland’s forestry is changing from mainly state forest to a large acreage of privately planted forest so is the thinking and methods changing in relation to deer management.

Ciaran Nugent and Dr.Tim Burkitt offer their advice.

APF is here again and will provide a worthwhile showing of all that is new.

Meanwhile Timber 2015 will be in Stradbally again Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th May 2015. Hope to meet you all there.

This edition also includes a selection of other features and profiles including: John Deere Forestry,Wood–Mizer, Oakleaf Forestry,D–Plant Horticulture, ECC Timber and ForestSales.ie We trust you enjoy reading this publication which will continue to provide a voice for the Forestry and Energy sectors.

Until the next time………

The Publishers Forestry & Energy Review

Features APF 2014,the UK’s largest forestry,woodland,arboricultural, trees and timber exhibition takes place at Ragley Estate, Alcester,Warwickshire, courtesy of the Marquess Of Hertfordshire, on the 18/19/20th September.

24 EUCALYPTUS SHORT ROTATION FORESTRY:WOOD FUEL FOR THIS GENERATION In 2006 D–Plant Horticulture first looked at Eucalyptus as a possible wood fuel in Ireland, writes Brendan Doyle.

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26 TIME FOR DIFFERENT THINKING ON DEER MANAGEMENT Expanding deer populations and an increasingly diverse forest estate mean that new thinking is now required, writes Ciaran Nugent (Forest Service) and Dr.Tim Burkitt (National Parks and Wildlife Service).

32 SHORT ROTATION FORESTRY Can Short Rotation Forestry play a role in Renewable Energy Demands? Dr. Conor O'Reilly UCD, Dr Brian Tobin UCD and Dr Niall Farrelly Teagasc report.

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38 POTENTIAL OF MISCANTHUS TO DISPLACE FOSSIL FUEL CO2 EMISSIONS AND SEQUESTER CARBON Biomass fuels are promoted as alternative energy sources to offset fossil–based energy CO2 emissions and hence reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from agriculture in the UK and Ireland, writes Rodrigo Olave, Greg Forbes, Chris Johnston and Scott Laidlaw of the Environment and Renewable Energy Centre, Agri–Food and Biosciences Institute (Hillsborough, Northern Ireland).

42 MISCANTHUS MAKE SENSE It is time for a major review. The questions are simple and the answers are straightforward. Paddy O’Toole and David Tyrrell, Quinns of Baltinglass report.

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44 GENETIC IMPROVEMENT OF SYCAMORE

BY FUTURE TREES TRUST Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) is a native broadleaved tree species to central and southern Europe. Rodrigo J. Olave (AFBI) and Gerry C. Douglas (Teagasc) report.

Profiles 4 John Deere Forestry 14 Wood–Mizer 36 Oakleaf Forestry 48 ECC Timber 50 ForestSales.ie

Contributors: Distribution: Publishers: Denis Lane and Robert Heuston Brendan Doyle (D–Plant Horticultre), Ciaran Nugent Easons, (Forest Service) & Dr.Tim Burkitt (National Parks and Newspread,WNS Wildlife Service), Dr Conor O'Reilly (UCD), Dr Brian Enquiries: Tobin (UCD) & Dr Niall Farrelly (Teagasc), Rodrigo Published by: Select Media Ltd, Olave, Greg Forbes, Chris Johnston & Scott Laidlaw Editorial: Denis Lane (Environment & Renewable Energy Centre,Agri–Food 26 Clare Street, Dublin 2, Ireland Advertising: James Small & Biosciences Institute,Hillsborough,Northern Ireland), Tel. + 353 1 6622266 Design: John Barrett Rodrigo J. Olave (AFBI) & Gerry C. Douglas (Teagasc), Fax. + 353 1 6624981 Production: Emma Meade Paddy O'Toole & David Tyrrell (Quinns of Baltinglass) Email. info@selectmedialtd.com

All material contained in this edition is copyright of Forestry and Energy Review 2014 and may not be reproduced or electronically stored without the permission of the publisher. However items may be freely reproduced provided the source is acknowledged. Content and views expressed in the publication do not necessarily represent those of the publishers.

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FORESTRY & ENERGY REVIEW

NEWS TEAGASC ASSISTS FOREST OWNERS WHOSE FORESTS SUFFERED WINDBLOW DAMAGE The wet weather and storms last February have led to considerable windblow damage in some Irish forests.The Munster area has been especially hard hit. Estimates of the area blown over and/or damaged range from 5,000 – 7,000 hectares on a national level.

John Casey, Forestry Adviser with Teagasc in Cork said:“Extensive damage has occurred to both individual trees on farms and also to forestry plantations. Many landowners are facing into unprecedented numbers of fallen trees and are uncertain as to what their best approach should be.Teagasc advises forest owners to check their plantations when it is safe to do so, and if necessary to take action now. Most windblown timber can still be salvaged and severe financial losses avoided if the correct action is taken.”

He continued “Teagasc can offer you advice and support on what steps to take next.Therefore, if you have any questions at all on procedures on timber removal, felling licence applications, liability issues or who to contact; talk to your local Forestry Adviser. You will receive independent and objective advice.”

John pointed out that it is important to get sound advice as tree felling may require you to obtain a felling licence prior to cutting down the trees. He said:“Teagasc can explain when felling licences may be required and what the relevant steps are. Such licences are issued by the Forest Service.Their Felling Section can be contacted at 053–9160200 if you have any further queries.”

To find out what your options are, or what steps to take next, contact your local Forestry Adviser. Contact details are available from your local Teagasc office or visit www.teagasc.ie/forestry/staff.Teagasc’s forestry website has a wealth of relevant information including Felling Licence application forms,contact details for timber harvesting contractors, safety guidelines for forestry operations,a guide to working with chainsaws and much more. Find out more at www.teagasc.ie/forestry.

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Teagasc reminds landowners that operating a chainsaw on windblown trees is extremely hazardous. Only fully trained and accredited operators should consider doing such work.This work becomes even more hazardous where road safety and electricity supply lines are involved.Always follow the Health and Safety Authority's guidelines carefully.All parties involved (including forest owners) have legal obligations.

Safe work practices aim to minimise, or eliminate, as much risk as possible.Wear safety footwear and clothing when operating a chainsaw.Work in pairs, never alone.Take account of possible sudden movements of timber as a result of work being done on it, or branches under strain. If working near overhead power lines, make sure that no power line is closer than two tree lengths. If in doubt, consult the ESB well in advance. If it is necessary to climb a tree, employ a professional tree surgeon. Do not operate the chainsaw above shoulder height. Leave the site in a safe condition.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Tom Hayes TD visits forests damaged by Storm Darwin in Castleisland, Co Kerry and Athea, Co Limerick.

(From left to right): John Madden, Inspector Forest Service, DAFM; John O’Sullivan, Chief Operations Officer Coillte; Minister of State Tom Hayes TD; John Hunt, forest owner (and with The Forestry Company); Tom Houlihan, Forestry Adviser Teagasc.

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FORESTRY & ENERGY REVIEW

NEWS OVER 400 FOREST OWNERS ATTEND NATIONAL STORM–DAMAGED FOREST EVENTS IN KILKENNY AND KERRY Teagasc, in association with Coillte and the Forest Service, DAFM held two very successful events in April on managing storm damage in farm forests.

The first event was attended by Tom Hayes TD, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with responsibility for forestry and Professor Gerry Boyle, Director of Teagasc.They wanted to see for themselves the devastating consequences of Storm Darwin.They appreciated the take home message that with good preparation and by putting together a step–by–step plan, the risk can be minimised while the value of the salvaged timber can be maximised.

During both these events, farmers had the opportunity to avail of the expertise of a range of speakers while the harvesting of the windblown timber continued in the background.The Forest Service outlined correct procedures when applying for felling licences while Coillte shared their expertise on issues such as harvesting, marketing and re–establishing forests. Important issues such as managing health and safety in forestry operations, insurance and taxation were also addressed.

Local Teagasc Forestry Development Officer Michael Somers said: “I was very pleased to see so many forest owners attending.This is one of the biggest natural disasters to happen recently in Irish forestry. Not since 1997 has the south of Ireland experienced a storm of this magnitude.The main point to be taken from this event is that the crop can be salvaged with good planning.”

PJ Trait of Coillte said: “Coillte was delighted to participate in these well attended events and provide support to forest owners

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April 8th and 16th 2014: Over 400 forest owners attended the National Storm–Damaged Forest Events near Mullinavat, Co Kilkenny and Castleisland, Co Kerry organised jointly by Teagasc, Coillte and the Forest Service, DAFM. (From left to right): Professor Gerry Boyle, Director Teagasc; Tom Hayes TD, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and PJ Trait, Customer Services Team Leader, Coillte in Mullinavat, Co Kilkenny.

by sharing our knowledge and experience of dealing with this windblow event. Our main message is that with good planning the forestry sector can get through this windblow and it is possible to recover value from the crops that have blown over."

MANAGING YOUNG FORESTS TO INCREASE THEIR VALUE The management of young forests and outlining the essential care for young forests was the focus of a nationwide series of forest walks during last May.The events were organised by Teagasc, in association with the Forest Service of the DAFM, and attended by a large number of forest owners.

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FORESTRY & ENERGY REVIEW

NEWS Forestry experts from Teagasc and the Forest Service focused on the key actions required by forest owners. Nuala Ni Fhlatharta, Head of the Teagasc Forestry Development Department said:“Management in the early years is essential to get the best returns from your forest because new forests require several years of active management to become well established. If a plantation is not well maintained, future timber revenue is likely to be compromised.”

“It is therefore very important to ensure that the young forest will perform well and that budding forest owners know what needs to be done each year. This is also true if the management of the plantation has been subcontracted out for the first four years.

After all, it is the owner that will benefit financially from well looked after trees.” she added.

13th May 2014: Noel Kennedy, Forestry Adviser discussing tree stocking and other management topics at a recent forest walk near Claremorris, Mayo. The walk is part of a nationwide series focusing on the management of young forests organised by Teagasc's Forestry Development Department.

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Noel Kennedy, Forestry Adviser with Teagasc explained the topics discussed; “Focus in the first few years is on controlling the surrounding vegetation, ensuring that browsing animals won't damage the young trees, replanting of failed trees, assessing nutrient needs, shaping of broadleaf trees, and reducing the risk of fires.”

He added:“The aim of these walks was to provide guidance to forest owners. Forest owners need to take an active role in the management of their forests to maximise future timber revenue.We were therefore very pleased to see that many of the people who attended had established a forest in the last few years or are considering planting some land.”

NATIONAL FORESTRY DEMONSTRATION ON THINNING OF ALDER AND SYCAMORE Teagasc, in association with the Forest Service DAFM and COFORD, demonstrated best practice in relation to thinning of Alder and Sycamore on June 17th near Ballycrissane, Ballinasloe, Co Galway.

This event was of particular interest to broadleaf woodland owners with plantations at or near the age of first thinning.

Noel Kennedy, Forestry Adviser with Teagasc explained the purpose of this national event:“Timing is critical in broadleaf management and the first thinning in broadleaf forests readies the forest for future management operations.This demonstration site has pure blocks of Alder and Sycamore which require thinning.”

He added “Timely thinning improves the overall quality of the trees because it allows for the removal of diseased and suppressed trees and lets the best quality trees grow unhindered.Thinning usually is a combination of taking out some rows and selectively thinning the inferior trees.”

Dr Ian Short,Teagasc Research Officer and principal researcher of the COFORD–funded B–SilvRD project demonstrated during this

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FORESTRY & ENERGY REVIEW

NEWS

17 June 2014: Oliver Sheridan and Dr Ellen O'Connor discuss alder improvement research during the National Broadleaf Thinning demonstration in Ballycrissane, Ballinasloe, Co Galway.

event the correct procedure in selecting the best trees in a forest and in turn showed how to select the trees to be removed while Teagasc researcher Dr Ellen O’Connor reported on research to improve the quality of planting stock.

COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION OF IMPROVED BIRCH AND ALDER TO GET UNDERWAY SOON Teagasc, in association with university partners UCD and UCC and supported through funding by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, have reached a stage in their birch and alder improvement programme, where a commercial partner is required for market development.

Dr Ellen O’Connor, Forestry Researcher with Teagasc has overseen this project since 2004. She provided some background to this important project:“The long–term research objective has been the development of a sustainable supply of improved, adapted and

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healthy seed of birch and alder within the framework of the EU Forest Reproductive Material (FRM) regulations. Parent material, to provide improved planting stock of alder and birch for use in afforestation and reforestation, was developed within this programme and is now available for commercial development.The upscale of seed production to meet national annual requirements will involve the set–up of an indoor seed orchard.”

She added:“This material is based on a classical approach to tree breeding and has been registered as Qualified.That means two steps up from the basic Source–Identified material currently used.

A research–based indoor birch seed orchard has been in operation for five years, adapting the techniques first developed in Finland.”

Oliver Sheridan, who also works on this research project with Teagasc has operated the seed orchard and underlined the importance of building up expertise:“It is important to build up expertise in managing an indoor seed orchard as it requires constant monitoring due to changing growth conditions.”

Dr O’Connor finished by saying:“Why would anyone use unimproved seed of poorer quality when this improved material will become available? Seed orchard development, with close association to the breeding programme, will ensure a continued seed supply of the highest genetic value.”

Further details on this important research programme can be found at the following website:www.teagasc.ie/forestry/ research/projects/birch_improvement.asp.

The upscale of seed production of improved birch and alder to meet national annual requirements will involve the set–up of an indoor seed orchard.

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COMMERCIAL FEATURE

RESPONDING TO RISING DEMAND FOR THIN–KERF & WIDEBAND SAWMILLING SOLUTIONS In 2014,Wood-Mizer’s sawmilling product line has dramatically expanded into larger and more productive sawmills for the industrial timber processing sector, and into smaller and more economical machines for woodworkers and low–volume hobbyists.

Adding the WB2000 to the business,” shares Ryszard,“I can now The WB2000 is Wood–Mizer’s first wideband sawmill, furthering their already make profits from all my logs, instead of only logs that fit on my well–known narrowband industrial line. processing line. It is perfect for producing custom orders, and I can now handle smaller orders that were impractical before.”

WM4000 INDUSTRIAL SAWMILL The WM4000 is a heavy–duty thin–kerf sawmill that features the latest industrial automation for the modern sawmill industry. Only one operator is needed to manage log handling, sawing, and timber removal to further processing.Two bi–directional chain turners, as well as three vertical side supports and taper rollers come standard for log handling.

The WM4000 is equally used as a standalone sawmill to process all required materials, or as an addition to an existing business to process irregular logs or to produce custom orders that the existing equipment is not suited for.

he WB2000 sawmill is the first in a new wide band series of that will be offered by Wood–Mizer to meet the needs of industrial timber producers around the world. Released to TIMBERY M100 SAWMILL production after more than a year of testing, the WB2000 runs a Timbery is a new brand of sawmilling equipment that is available 90mm wide band blade, offers impressive log capacity of up to from Wood–Mizer UK.The new Timbery M100 is among the most six tonnes, and is able to cut a 900mm log in half. affordable entry–level band sawmills available on the market – Designed as a high–production sawmill for the most demanding under £3,000! The M100, while designed for affordability, provides sawing conditions, Wood–Mizer’s new WB2000 features heavy– solid features that make the sawmilling process easier for beginners and duty construction, low maintenance requirements, and efficient low volume timber producers. Log capacity for the M100 is 660mm operation. The twin post sawmill head can cut a 900mm log in in diameter by just over three metres long. Additional 1.5 metre half, making it an attractive solution for managing medium to bed extensions allow longer logs to be cut. large logs. A 22kW electric motor is standard, and a 30kW motor The M100 comes with a 9hp Subaru petrol engine, or a 4kW is optional. electric motor.The sawmill features a convenient blade clutch Computer setworks and a raised operator control station allow and throttle lever that engages both at the same time. Head a single operator to manage all sawing and log handling functions height is adjusted easily with a hand crank. A log clamp and while maintaining a clear view of his work. adjusted side supports are included. Once the sawmill is running, The bed is heavily constructed to handle logs up to six tonnes. light pushing is all that is needed to cut through the log.

All hydraulic log handling functions – such as the log clamps, chain OTHER 2014 PRODUCT RELEASES FROM turners, and power rollers – are modular, and can be moved to different bunks as needed, depending on the type and size of logs WOOD–MIZER: • SPL2 ‘Smart Log Processing’ line being processed. Wood–Mizer also supplies a complete line of Convert logs up to 400mm diameter into finished lumber with conveyors, tables, and material handling equipment to accompany as few as three operators while maximising yield. the WB2000. Ryszard Weber, owner of a local timber processing • HR700 industrial resaw company who tested Wood–Mizer’s first WB2000 prototype, Modular design configurations and larger 400mm cant capacity decided to purchase the mill after a few months of testing.

“With the WB2000 sawmill, I can cut anything – small logs, large for timber processors.

For more information, visit www.woodmizer.co.uk. logs, high quality logs, low quality logs.

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The WM4000 is Wood–Mizer’s fastest and most productive sawmill that also maximises log yield by utilising thin–kerf blades.

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The new Timbery M100 sawmill can cut logs up to 660mm in diameter and 3 metres long.

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FORESTRY & ENERGY REVIEW

NEWS

LATEHOSE

e provide the service you require,Hydraulic hose repair “outside business hours”, remember the last hose failure was it outside business hours!!

We manufacture all host sizes from 1/4 to 1'1/4 in both 2–wire and 4–wire hose assembly's for high pressure applications, currently in stock over 950 different types of hose tails, to suit all types of machines.

We can repair/refurbish hydraulic system's on a machine and also all types of checking and diagnosis can be provided for any hydraulic system.

We also provide a "crane weighing" system which has the ability to weight produce being placed onto a truck, this is one of the most advanced systems on the market.

Please call with your individual requirements, we have the solution to solve your problem!

For more information contact JP Betts, Ballingeary, Cahir, Co. Tipperary (5 minutes from junction 10 M8, Cahir exit, 10 minutes from Clonmel). Telephone 00353 (0) 86–785 4848.

Visit www.latehose.ie or email: support@latehose.ie

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TEAGASC HYDROKIT UK LTD “YOUR 1ST CHOICE FOR WORKSHOP onstruction sites are cold and bleak in winter but the new AND HYDRAULIC TEST EQUIPMENT.” heated jacket from Makita will provide a new level of comfort

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t Hydrokit, we pride ourselves on our range of quality Hydraulic and protection. Powered by Makita’s popular Lithium–ion batteries, and Electo–hydraulic kits and components for mobile machinery. which many site tradesmen will already own with their power What you may not know, is our range of quality products also extends tools, the new DCJ200 heated jacket uses the popular 18v Lithium–ion to workshop and hydraulic test equipment. battery which will give comfortable low heating for 17.5 continuous We have Flowmeters from 200 to 800 litres per minute and Pressure hours. test kits with either digital or analogue display. Both these items are The new Makita Twittertroubleshooting @MakitaUK. or setting up machinery. indispensable when he hydraulic Our range of Oil filtration units ensures the cleanliness of oil entering your machine.This helps avoid costly downtime due to contamination.

For "on–site" service and maintenance we can offer: electric grease guns, fuel transfer pumps, hydraulic pressure washers, tachometers, laser thermometers plus many more practical, useful and invaluable items which will save your time and maximise your machines to their full potential.

Electrical test equipment is also included within our range so, call us today for a FREE copy of our new catalogue to see the full Hydrokit range.

Great deals available on workshop equipment, quote offer code APF14 – valid until 30th September.

For further information contact: Dave Freeman Hydrokit UK LTD Tel : 01728 684800 Fax : 01728 684808 Email : uksales@hydrokit.com

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FORESTRY & ENERGY REVIEW

NEWS

obinson Distribution Ltd has been known for many years for their work and their supply to the timber haulage market in both Ireland and abroad. Now they have recently taking a step further in the timber harvesting market with lo loaders, and this may potentially open up other markets.

Robinson Distribution has previously produced lo loaders, but now with the release of this new model, they will be sure to satisfy all customer needs.The new model of lo loader has many variations including: BPW single or twin leaf spring,SAF axles,auto lift axle,steering

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Leinster pellets 1-4

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axles,three or four axle configuration,galvanised clip style out riggers, 50mm hard wood floor, steel chequered plate or timber in neck area, timber bolsters, as well as many other features.

However with new timber trailers in mind, Robinson Distribution is determined to stay beyond the cutting edge at all times in the timber haulage and handling equipment supply.

If you have any queries for new or used timber haulage or handling equipment, please feel free to contact Robinson Distribution on Telephone: 00353 57 8624832 or email Scott at email:scott@robinsondistribution.ie Visit the website at www.robinsondistribution.ie

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FORESTRY & ENERGY REVIEW

NEWS

NOEL LANE TREE CARE AND MAKITA WARMS TO WINTER FORESTRY SERVICES FASHION WITH HEATED JACKETS

Caherpeak, Kilcolgan, Co Galway

his is a new company set up by Noel Lane. Noel has up to 40 years’ experience in Forestry and Tree Care. He is a registered forester with the Dept. of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. Noel has a Higher Diploma in Science in Forestry and is a certified arborist based in Galway with full Comprehensive Professional Indemnity Insurance.The new company offer a range of Tree Care and Forestry services including the following: Tree Surveys including reports and recommendations on tree health and risk assessment. Surveys detail individual trees by species, age, condition and recommended treatment.

Complete Tree Care Project Management This is the full package: provide tree survey, secure and evaluate tenders, supervise work and sign off when complete to specification.

Specifications vary and can involve crown reduction, crown thinning, crown pruning and crown lifting, removal of dead and broken branch material, chipping, dangerous tree removal, tree removal to facilitate development works, stump removal, tree replacement etc.

Tree Planting including both commercial Forestry establishment and landscaping purposes.

Full range of Forest Business services such as forestry management plans, forest inventory,forest thinning and harvesting and forest valuations.

Noel Lane Tree Care and Forestry Services Company are targeting all market segments.The new company rely on previous reputation and safety and delivery of services on time and within reasonable and competitive budgets.

For more information, telephone Noel at 086 2536973, email: noellane80@gmail.com or visit www.noellanetreecare.ie

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onstruction sites are cold and bleak in winter but the new heated jacket from Makita will provide a new level of comfort and protection. Powered by Makita’s popular Lithium–ion batteries, which many site tradesmen will already own with their power tools, the new DCJ200 heated jacket uses the popular 18v Lithium–ion battery which will give comfortable low heating for 17.5 continuous hours.

The new Makita heated jackets, with central zip fastening, are blouson style with three zip–close pockets, two at the sides and one useful chest pocket.There is an additional sleeve holder for a mobile phone. Sleeves, which are detachable in milder weather, have elasticated cuffs for heat retention and the jacket hem can be tightened by a pull cord while the crew–type collar provides maximum wind and weather protection.These useful jackets are made from a robust and durable combination-fabric of 94% polyester and 6% spandex which is fast drying.

The Lithium–ion battery can either be carried in a pouch on the inside at the rear of the jacket or clipped onto the user’s belt.The three heat zones are in the middle of the back and the two waist side areas, while an LED heat level indicator is on the left breast just below the Makita branding.

The DCJ200 heated jacket, available in black only, will prove to be a real comfort in winter.

For the latest company news and information please visit www.makitauk.com or follow Makita on Twitter @MakitaUK.

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COMMERCIAL FEATURE

APF 2014–THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS APF 2014, the UK’s largest forestry, woodland, arboricultural, trees and timber exhibition takes place once again at Ragley Estate,Alcester,Warwickshire, courtesy of the Marquess Of Hertfordshire, on the 18/19/20th September, and this will be the 20th staging of the Exhibition which first began at Longleat Estate in 1976.

For those who hark back to the ‘good old days’ there will be vintage he exhibition has grown hugely since those early days and and steam driven sawmills and machines.

APF 2014 will have over 250 exhibitors and 17,000 visitors In the Forest and Land management seminar tent there will be a attending over the course of the show. By far the largest in the UK, the exhibition also ranks very highly in size compared with comprehensive programme of topical seminars presented by the other European shows.Where APF 2014 differs from our European Forestry Commission. Confor will be holding its AGM in their tent counterparts is the size of the arboricultural and tree surgery element. on the Thursday morning and we are delighted that the Secretary Of State Owen Paterson, will be coming to APF 2014 on Thursday Where many other European shows are very forestry orientated around half of the exhibitors and visitors to APF 2014 are arboricultural morning where he will take part in a panel discussion in the Confor tent before having a guided tour of the site to help him understand professionals.We are very pleased to welcome a large number of European exhibitors for the first time as they realise what an important what happens in a modern working forest and the needs of the industry.

More and more visitors now spend two days at the show as there market the UK now is. It has become the industry event to be at with a deserved reputation as being a great place to exhibit and sell is too much to do and see in one day.To meet this demand we have this year set up an on-site campsite within walking distance of the machinery and equipment to a highly targeted audience.A major feature of the show is the 2040m demonstration circuit where visitors exhibition site.The cost is just £14 per person per night.This can be booked via the website or over the phone. are able to compare machinery actually working in a realistic If you are reading this as a potential exhibitor then there may still environment and secure some great deals.As the firewood sector continues to grow and prices are at an all time high you can see the be time to book a site.We will continue to take bookings so long as very latest firewood processing equipment from the smallest logsplitter we have space. Please ring the office to see what is still available. to industrial scale production machines from every major manufacturer The APF 2014 show catalogue is being produced again by Forestry Journal.We would like to thank Mark,Anne, Margaret and the whole both in the UK and Europe.

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“More and more visitors now spend two days at the show as there is too much to do and see in one day. To meet this demand we have this year set up an on–site campsite within walking distance of the exhibition site” We have an exciting programme of events and competitions running through all three days of the show.We will be staging the Husqvarna World 25m pole climbing championships, the A W Jenkinson and UPM Tilhill European Chainsaw Carving Championships, the Komatsu and Barony College UK Forwarder driving championships and the World Log To Leg Polelathe championships If you want to enter the pole climbing competition there are entry forms on the website and there are categories for both expert and tree surgeon classes and some fantastic prizes. If you are an experienced forwarder driver then you will be able to enter the UK competition on the day.

Since 2012 we now have a processors section in the static display area where many of the main timber processing companies and sawmiller’s can be found.They will be pleased to discuss supply, specifications and any other timber,woodchip and biomass questions you have.

We want APF 2014 to represent everything that happens in a modern working woodland so there is a large and comprehensive traditional woodland crafts area covering everything from hazel hurdles, Sussex trugs, oak swill baskets, traditional chair making, charcoal burning, pole lathe turning, willow weaving and dug-out canoes.

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FJ team for the hard work they put into producing the excellent show catalogue which serves as a very useful comprehensive trade directory until the next show.We could not afford to stage all the events, competitions and seminars without help from our sponsors.

Without them the show would not be half the event it is and we would like to thank them for their continuing support. In alphabetical order they are A W Jenkinson, Euroforest, Forestry Journal, Forest & Land Management, Husqvarna, Komatsu and UPM Tilhill. If you would like to increase your company profile at APF 2014 or in 2016 by sponsoring us in some form please contact the office.We have opportunities to suit all budgets from just £100 upwards.

If you wish to purchase further tickets in advance this can be done online via the website or by ringing the office on 01737 245081.

One day advanced tickets are £18, two day tickets are £32 and if you are buying 10 or more the group ticket rate is just £16. If you want to just turn up on the day that is fine and gate tickets will be £20.

There are current maps and an exhibitor list on the website to help you plan your visit.If you need any more information please either email or phone the office where Ian or Trish will be pleased to help you.We look forward to welcoming you to APF 2014 and hope you enjoy your visit.

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EUCALYPTUS FEATURE

EUCALYPTUS SHORT ROTATION FORESTRY: WOOD FUEL FOR THIS GENERATION In 2006 D–Plant Horticulture first looked at Eucalyptus as a possible wood fuel in Ireland.

Inspired by the Eucalyptus growing in their nursery shelter-belts,D–Plant soon realized the potential of hardy forestry species like E. glaucescens or E. subcrenulata for the wood fuel/biomass industry. to present themselves annually. One could easily expect to achieve growth rates of at least 12 dry tonnes of timber per hectare per annum, and higher with a well selected species planted on a good fertile well managed site.

The appetite for Eucalyptus remains strong and is growing year on year. It has been broadly acknowledged by the Department of Agriculture and the Forestry Services that Eucalyptus will play a substantial role in filling the deficit in the fibre and energy supply market. Much of next year’s stock which has now been sown is already booked up.This is good confirmation that Eucalyptus continues to be received well across the industry.

The Forestry Programme 2014–2020 consultation paper came out and was open for submissions in April 2014.This draft proposes to support the growing of Eucalyptus for energy or fibre under the Forestry for Fibre Programme. Submissions from many industry stakeholders were submitted and can be viewed on the Department of Agriculture’s website. Overall the proposal of the new scheme was welcomed but there were some concerns about the limited list of approved species of Eucalyptus. Also there was a lot of concern about the proposal to lock this short rotation forestry scheme into permanent forestry, i.e. the land must remain in forestry. This is likely to reduce the uptake on this new proposed Brendan Doyle from D-Plant horticulture with a cross section taken at scheme. Forestry for fibre would probably be better classed as an breast height from a 13 year old Eucalyptus. Note the 2 year old Eucalyptus energy or biomass crop.The final draft of the Forestry Programme Glaucescens in the background ith a little more research D–Plant Horticulture came to 2014–2020 is due to be announced in January 2015 and hopefully these issues will have been ironed out. realize that Eucalyptus is probably the most grown hardwood commercially in the world producing crops Plants for 2015 can be ordered now but availability gets booked for the pulp wood and fibre board industry. During this research up quickly.With strong possibility of Eucalyptus being grant aided D–Plant Horticulture developed a working relationship with John from 2015 transplants will be difficult to get. If you are interested in planting for 2015 contact D–Plant Horticulture ASAP. Purse of Prima Bio in the U.K. With John’s extensive worldwide

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“There has been a huge amount of growth this season on established eucalyptus trees. Rates of over 30cm of growth in one week have been recorded in early July this year on two year old Eucalyptus Glaucescen” knowledge of Eucalyptus, Prima Bio was an ideal partner for the research and development of Eucalyptus as a wood fuel for Ireland.

To date D–Plant Horticulture have been working with Prima Bio in the development of high quality planting material for the biomass/energy market.

Eucalyptus has gone from an occasional garden specimen to an impressive forest species in a short few years. With the appetite growing for wood fuel Eucalyptus is becoming the obvious favorite in most parts of the country. Even with the risk factor of rare Arctic winter damage and a calculated risk assessment, Eucalyptus has shown to be a most worthwhile crop. Over 50 new plantations have been established around the country this season.The weather has been mostly favorable for planting with the exception of some dry spells where watering was necessary but most plantations got rain when needed to establish.

There has been a huge amount of growth this season on established eucalyptus trees. Rates of over 30cm of growth in one week have been recorded in early July this year on two year old Eucalyptus Glaucescens. Evidence of these impressive growth rates continue

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VARIETIES AVAILABLE FOR 2015 SEASON FROM D–PLANT HORTICULTURE: • E glaucescens – will coppice (–15to –16) • E urnigera – will coppice (–15c to –16c) • E. rodwayi – will coppice (V13c to –15c) Suitable for wetter sites • E. subcrenulata – Will coppice (–14c to –16c) • E.parvula – will coppice (–14c to –16c) • E. cordata – will coppice.Useful for coastal shelter.(–12c to –14c) • E. nitens – vigorous but does not copice reliably (–12c to –13c) • E. denticulata – will coppice (–11c to –12.5c) For More information contact: Brendan Doyle.

D–Plant Horticulture, Borelia, Glenbrien, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, Tel: 053 9236516, Mobile 087 2861221, Email: dplant@eircom.net, www.dplant.ie Reference in this article to John Purse, Prima Bio More information at www.primabio.co.uk

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THE FOREST SERVICE

TIME FOR DIFFERENT THINKING ON DEER MANAGEMENT

Expanding deer populations and an increasingly diverse forest estate mean that new thinking is now required to deal with deer impacts in forestry, and to develop long term sustainable deer management into the future, writes Ciaran Nugent (Forest Service) and Dr.Tim Burkitt (National Parks and Wildlife Service).

A healthy broadleaf plantation. Crops of this type are extremely vulnerable to browsing by deer and domestic livestock

ur expanding, and now increasingly diverse national forest estate has provided an ideal habitat for thriving populations of red, sika and fallow deer; and populations of each of these species have expanded accordingly in recent decades.

This expansion is not unique to Ireland,and most industrialised countries have seen similar population expansions and associated issues arise in recent decades Deer are essentially woodland animals, adapted and evolved to live and thrive in and around woodland. Recent studies have shown where deer densities are low and within sustainable limits they can exert a positive influence on forest development and the survival of plant communities within the forest through selective grazing, browsing, trampling and the transport of seed.

Where density is high, it is well established that deer can impact adversely on commercial timber production and quality. High deer population densities can also impact adversely on associated biodiversity values as over grazing and browsing retard seedling growth and negatively affect the survival of ground and shrub layers.This results in a loss of diversity that ultimately affects plants, insects, bird and small mammals.

A major challenge is therefore presented to Irish foresters in balancing the demands of society for ever more diverse forests, with the need to ensure that deer populations are maintained in accordance with the wide range of objectives and activities that these forests are now expected to provide and support.

There is much work to be done to develop the necessary deer management culture and skillsets to address this challenge, particularly among forestry professionals and woodland owners. Forest management and deer management must be integrated into forest management policy and programme delivery on the ground. Unfortunately, this is not the case in Ireland, or most other countries for that matter.

Irish foresters in particular, are yet to grasp the nettle of deer

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management in a meaningful way. Foresters have over relied on fencing to exclude deer and the selection of less vulnerable species, often at considerable financial cost and wasted opportunity.As a consequence of this, it can be argued that deer, and not foresters or landowners, now dictate species selection in many parts of Ireland.

The greatest consequence of widespread deer activity has been a move away from valuable, high quality conifers such as Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar and Scots Pine towards spruce, despite the increasing availability of suitable land for these species. At the same time, less profitable broadleaves are coralled behind expensive fencing, in the hope that the problem will somehow resolve itself within the lifespan of the fencing used. Large deer populations are a relatively new phenomenon in Ireland; their impact on agricultural activity and the reaction of agricultural interests is now a frequent political issue. Until the 1940’s deer populations would have been small and at low density, largely confined to those few areas with high levels of woodland cover, predominantly former sporting estates.

With the breakup of these estates and dispersal of both deer and the expertise in managing them, deer gradually established themselves in the newly forested lands of the state’s aquisition and planting programme.

The expansion of suitable habitats, driven by planting from the 1950’s onwards created yet more suitable habitats right up until the 1980’s. As the first crops matured, the increasing availability of both food and cover in and around clearfelled coupes provided a potent driver for increasing deer densities. In the late 1980’s, the previously integrated wildlife management and forest management divisions of the Forest and Wildlife Service were separated, leading to a consequent loss of expertise and coherent policy relating to deer management between Forestry and Conservation agencies.

Deer impacts became a Creeping Environmental Problem, with impacts poorly measured or reported, and therefore imperceptible to policy makers and senior forest managers.

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THE FOREST SERVICE Appropriate training and professional development is central to the impelementation of sustainable deer management

Within the same timeframe, irish deer hunting developed, and appropriate cull levels. Undertaking to cull populations in the absence licenced hunter numbers expanded from around 200 in the 1970’s of reliable population data is akin to writing a blank cheque without to almost 5,000 today. In marked contrast to other European countries knowing the amount. with long standing forest culture and hunting traditions, Irish deer Given the scale and compexity of the issue, the direct involvement hunting developed along individualistic grounds, with little or no of relevant stakeholders is absolutely critical. In many respects this cohesive organised hunting culture or clear understanding of deer is the only feasible route to a working solution and the Departments management. Most hunting developed on state lands around those involved will have to devolve a large degree of traditional state areas with residual deer populations and the current leasing and control in order to encourage stakeholders to collaborate on these licensing systems were established and developed within this issues.This approach must be mirrored at both local and national context.The lack of deer management culture in many parts of the level and be stakeholder led in so far as is possible. Coordinating country meant that deer issues were largely relegated or devolved and aligning the positions and capabilities of various stakeholder to recreational hunting interests, and no national network of groups presents an enormous challenge and requires careful advance professional deer management personnel was developed within planning and preparation by the Departments overseeing the the forest sector. programme.

In a nutshell, the ‘deer problem’ is actually a series of inter related Towards these aims, later this autumn both the Department of human organisational issues, that has been permitted to evolve Agriculture Food and the Marine and the Department of Arts, slowly over time. The deer are doing fine, it’s the humans who have Heritage and Gaeltacht will jointly launch a number of initiatives the problem. developed jointly via the Interagency Deer Management Group.

Resolving the deer problem will not be easy. As a classic wicked These joint initiatives are intended to address the issues in both problem, it is the product of natural, political and stakeholder aspects the immediate and long terms and to provide a secure and stable that are not easily resolved individually, let alone in concert with Deer tracks along a fence. Fencing can disrupt other issues. Namely: established deer movement habits and induce behavioural changes that lead to damage ● Creeping Environmental Problem (CEP) issues – impacts develop slowly, and are difficult to perceive. ● Limited data and research basis for policy development ● Complicated Stakeholder relationships – often leading to open conflict between and within stakeholder groups ● Poorly developed deer management cultures in forestry ● Limited understanding of deer issues in agriculture and forestry sectors ● Little professional deer management capacity outside of NPWS ● Poor understanding of DM requirements by research interests ● Resource issues – Human, financial limitations on policy responses ● Austerity Inertia - Nobody wants to do anything Solving the ‘problem’ in effect means simultaneously addressing all of these complex issues.While demands for mass culls make for great headlines, this activity is not feasible given the enormous financial, political and logistical support required to sustain it.

Critically, it is highly unlikely that this type of approach would ever be supported by public opinion, or receive the necessary stakeholder cooperation required to make it cost effective or feasible.

Critical population data is essential to establish base-line density and distribution.This can then be used to monitor progress and set

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THE FOREST SERVICE

New fencing techniques and materials are now available that permit installation of cheaper, more effective fencing, that can be installed across a wider range of site types

platform upon which to develop the type of options required to address the issue in an integrated manner.

The first initiative is the publication of the Deer Management Policy vision, designed to coordinate policy development between the Departments and stakeholder sectors concerned.The first document of its type in Irish forestry, it places a strong emphasis on meaningful stakeholder participation and local level activity.

It also places a very strong emphasis on stakeholder preparedness and organisation, with a view to correcting historic shortcomings on the delivery of basic deer management capabilities.As such it

are an issue, and will help accelerate the development of deer management measures on the ground in these areas. Makeup of these groups closely mirrors the stakeholder group makeup at national level.

From a forestry perspective, there is much to be done to improve current capacity to both measure and implement deer management requirements. Knowledge of deer population levels and behavioural responses to land use activity patterns is a priority. Current deer control methods, namely fencing and shooting, can be optimised through improved forest design, and the use of new fencing techniques and materials in addition to more lateral thinking in relation to optimising current methods and embracing new methods of control. These measures must also be matched by optimisation of silviculture used in areas where deer are abundant, particularly in the context of native Woodland management.Where deer are concerned, one size does not fit all, and approaches to forest management must become more ‘Deer Aware’, in the locations involved, and at all scales of forest development, from leaf to landscape.

It is ironic that while foresters have spent the last decade incorprating ‘biodiversity’, into plantations, we have continued to neglect the requirements of our largest, most visible and potentially most influential land mammals.The biodiversity requirements of forestry schemes provide the building blocks for deer habitat management through open space provision, stand design and species selection, but foresters appear reluctant to utilise these tools or assemble the blocks in the right order.

Silviculture must focus on appropriate decisions and techniques that manipulate deer habitat quality and behavioural patterns towards designing out elements that encourage deer damage where possible.

Implementing ‘Deer Smart’ silviculture requires a major investment in training and awareness within the forest sector, and a commitment by the sector to maintain this approach into the future.At the same time, the forestry sector brings a lot to the table in respect of existing resource management expertise.This expertise must now focus on the management of deer, and while foresters have much

“silviculture must focus on appropriate decisions and techniques that manipulate deer habitat quality and behavioural patterns towards designing out elements that encourage deer damage” places major emphasis on education and awareness in the economic to learn, we have a great deal of relevant knowledge to impart also. sectors most affected by deer. Critically, it places a strong emphasis Our deer problems in forestry did not develop overnight.They are the consequence of many decades of undermanagement and on reduction of economic losses in agriculture and forestry. It defines regulatory, spatial and administrative frameworks required to support there are no quick fixes towards addressing this.We need a long term commitment by all stakeholders to the slow and steady and implement long–term sustainable deer management on the development of the structures, organisation and data required to ground and within the various policy frameworks that relate to manage our deer populations sustainably.The forestry sector has a deer and the sectors they impact on.

A key measure will be the establishment of the Irish Deer Management key role to play in this process, and is ideally placed to provide both technological know how and leadership to the process at Forum, an independent stakeholder forum designed to facilitate constructive dialogue between stakeholders and supported by the both local and national levels.

Departments concerned. The forum will enable the type of organisation Severe damage to young ash plant as a result of deer browsing and coordination between stakeholders that has hitherto been unavailable.The forum will be led by an independent chairperson appointed by the Departments, and will be tasked with exploring and solutions to various deer management issues not yet addressed by policy.The operation of the forum will be backed by workgroups based around key issues and will have access to technical support and funding from the Departments and other European sources.

Deer management is ultimately a local level issue and this aspect will be addressed via support to pilot local level deer management partnerships operating in areas of high deer density.These partnerships are viewed as the basic level building blocks for deer management implementation into the future, and will operate along standardised deer management planning lines.These partnerships are intended to provide a working example to communities in areas where deer

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TEAGASC FORESTRY

SHORT ROTATION FORESTRY

Can Short Rotation Forestry play a role in Renewable Energy Demands? Dr. Conor O'Reilly UCD, Dr Brian Tobin UCD and Dr Niall Farrelly Teagasc report.

Figure 1: Eucalyptus nitens beside Sitka spruce in Cappoquin, Co Waterford planted in 1992 (photo Kevin Hutchinson)

ew research into short rotation forestry may have the potential to offset some of the predicted shortfall in supply of timber for biomass and assist in achieving renewable energy targets.A multidisciplinary team from UCD, Trinity College, UL,WIT and Teagasc hope to evaluate its potential in Ireland.

A new collaborative project called ShortFor funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine between University College Dublin (lead organisation),Trinity College Dublin, University of Limerick,Waterford Institute of Technology and Teagasc is underway to explore the potential of short rotation forestry (SRF) in Ireland to meet renewable energy markets.While Ireland’s renewable energy targets are set to increase to 16% by 2020 (European directive 2009/ 28/EC), there is a predicted shortfall of 1.7 million m3 of forest biomass in Ireland, with demand set to increase to 3.1 million m3.

The requirement of renewables for electricity generation is set higher at a target of 30% of Ireland’s electricity needs by 2020.

There is perhaps a potential role for short rotation forestry (SRF) and other sources of fibre to supply much of this predicted shortfall.

The proposed research programme hopes to identify a wide range of sites with potential for SRF in Ireland and evaluate the potential of a number of new species that may be potentially suitable for SRF.

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rotation coppice systems and conventional forestry. It provides more flexibility than a coppice system in that a much wider variety of species can be used and there is the potential to convert stands back into conventional forestry (e.g. due to a change in market environment).

Since the objectives differ from conventional forestry, the silvicultural practices need to be modified to suit SRF. For example, Sitka spruce is normally planted at about 2 m spacing in conventional forestry, thus reducing the need for early (often uneconomic) thinning.Trees that are planted at such (relatively wide) spacing will not fully utilise the site during the early years after establishment.

However, planting at wide spacing may be undesirable if the objective is to maximise the amount of biomass produced over a short period of time.

Species that are suitable for conventional forestry may also be less suitable for SRF objectives.

WHAT IS SHORT ROTATION FORESTRY? SRF, single or multi–stemmed trees of fast growing species grown on a reduced rotation length (less than 20 years in Ireland) primarily for the production of biomass or fibre, occupies a niche between the highly productive short Table 1: Indicative figures for biomass production of short rotation forestry in Ireland

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TEAGASC FORESTRY

Figure 2: Eucalyptus delegatensis stand at Kilbora, Co Wexford, planted 1992, c. 22 years old, partially windblown by the February 2014 storm (photo Tom Kent).

RANGE OF POTENTIAL SPECIES A range of potential species are available that may have potential for short rotation forestry (Table 1). In recent years the potential of Eucalyptus for energy and fibre production has been investigated and shows much potential (Hutchinson, Thompson and Berkery).The species shows extremely rapid early growth and has the potential to produce large volumes on relatively short rotations, with rotations of 16 years highly plausible.While there are more than 900 species of Eucalyptus, possibly eight show some potential in Ireland.

The most impressive, Eucalyptus nitens has been shown to produce yields from 18 to 42 m3/ha in demonstration plots in Co Wexford (Hutchinson,Thompson and Berkery; Figure 1). In addition recent measurements from a plot of E. gunnii and E. delegatensis in Co

environmentally and economically, through the application of evidence –based research information.

This new project runs from 2014 to 2017. The main objectives and expected outcomes are as follows: • Biomass is a relatively low value product, which ideally should be produced close to where it is being used.The current extent of SRF resource and markets (pulp and energy biomass) will be mapped, identifying / predicting likely regions where areas of suitable land are likely to become available (land that is not in competition for food production).

• The potential of SRF to contribute to biomass production and renewable energy targets in Ireland will be explored.The quality and calorific value of the biomass produced by key species as well

“The proposed research programme hopes to identify a wide range of sites with potential for SRF in Ireland and evaluate the potential of a number of new species that may be potentially suitable for SRF” Wexford indicate that these species also have some potential where E. nitens is considered unsuitable. Other Eucalyptus also show potential and may be more frost hardy. E. subcrenulata, E. unigera and E. glaucescens show promising early results in a trial established by Teagasc in Athenry and are thought to be frost resistant to –16oC. Other species such as hybrid poplar have been shown to grow very vigorously (Figure 3).While certain species may show rapid growth potential they may be unsuitable for certain site types,show increased susceptibility to frost, or be less disease resistant.

It is therefore necessary to investigate a range of potential species.

Other conventional forest tree species (e.g. Sitka spruce, Grand fir, Corsican pine) may have potential on different site types and are capable of producing large volumes in 20 years, while information on other species (i.e. Nothofagus and hybrid aspen) is lacking.

Therefore more detailed information is needed on species and site suitability and silvicultural practices to manage crops and what the best approach is to optimise returns from SRF in Ireland. Practices need to be developed that optimise the use of natural resources,

as the sustainability of suitable management/ production systems will be examined.

• The potential for using genetically improved fast–growing broadleaved and coniferous species will be investigated.

• An efficient production, management and harvesting system for use at farm level will be developed.

• The environmental impact of such management systems will be examined by Trinity College and University of Limerick, considering energy and fertiliser inputs and losses, changes in soil carbon stocks, GHG balance and energy inputs for SRC compared with conventional forest (or other) production systems.The rates of carbon sequestration that can be expected will also be evaluated.The best plant genotypes (species/clones) that are suited to SRF under conditions in Ireland will be determined.

• Field trials will be established to investigate the impact of a number of spacings on species growth characteristics (e.g. yield) on several site types.

• Silvicultural practices (e.g. spacing) that optimise returns will be determined in the long–term field trials.

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TEAGASC FORESTRY of the methods used to mobilise this resource. It is important that SRF practices should also be environmentally sustainable.

Several key indicators of sustainability will be evaluated by Trinity College Dublin including soil fertility and hydrological balance issues. The effect of stump removal will be evaluated. Carbon stocks will be compared with other short rotation and conventional forest and land–use systems by University of Limerick. Synergistic links with other relevant studies will be exploited.

POTENTIAL IMPACT OF SHORT ROTATION FORESTRY

Figure 3: Hybrid poplar clonal trial at 4 m x 4 m spacing in Kildalton Agricultural College, planted 1996, c. 18 years old (photo Tom Kent)

RESEARCH APPROACH ShortFor will spend a considerable effort on reviewing the current state of knowledge on SRF systems, both here in Ireland as well as from the UK and other related international sources.

A major task is to identify what resource currently exists and the range of suitable sites possible.

At time of writing a list of twenty Eucalyptus sites planted by Coillte and D Plant Horticulture have been identified, mainly containing E. nitens, E. gunii, E. delegatensis, E. dendiculata, E. cordata and E. unigera. In addition three poplar and six alder sites have been identified (Figure 3).

Information on the location of stands of eucalyptus, Italian alder, hybrid poplar and Nothofagus may be communicated to the project by contacting Mr Tom Kent of WIT (tkent@wit.ie).WIT will carry out field assessments of the productivity of potential SRF species on a range of sites.This work hopes to identify the range of site types suitable for a range of species and match these to the potential sites which may become available for SRF in the future and inform what species and management systems are necessary to supply biomass energy markets.

NEW FIELD TRIALS

Economic development – The creation of new supply opportunities for pulp and box wood will allow increased development of markets for larger dimension and higher– value timber products. Such developments will stimulate further job creation in downstream processing and marketing sectors, further enhancing potential for building exports while reducing the need for imports. The expansion of the energy market will also contribute to rural development.

Sustainability of supply – One of the limitations of SRC production systems in Ireland to date is that they have been dominated by very low species diversity. SRF offers an opportunity to operate intensive production of biomass over a wider range of site types using a greater range (and perhaps mix) of species thereby reducing the risk of attack from pests and diseases.

Benefit for Irish society/citizens – The possibilities of planting SRF using an increased range of native species will increase biodiversity in bioenergy crop areas, while safe–guarding and increasing indigenous energy supply.

Contribution to the legislative/regulatory framework – There is very limited experience of SRF systems in Ireland or the UK. Demand for biomass for energy (and from other markets) may drive investment in SRF in the near future. However, there is a paucity of information to inform policy formation and legislative regulation, leading to the potential for environmental and economic damage. Furthermore, efficient and sustainable production management systems will be developed, allowing for more widespread use of SRF in Ireland.

Improvement of the Irish scientific capacity and capability –

A limited number of targeted field trials are planned to test establishment The employment of research personnel and postdoctoral researchers procedures specific to SRF conditions to ensure that a system can will help maintain national expertise in forest biomass and energy sectors, which is essential for the development of this sector. be developed that quickly maximises productivity potential and to develop new practices for managing crops to optimise harvest Sustainability and environmental benefits – The environmental times / rotation length as well as coppicing opportunities. In particular, impact of SRF will be assessed, allowing for the development of the growth dynamics of key species will be evaluated in response management prescriptions that deliver optimum efficiency while to different spacings. ensuring sustainability by protecting long–term soil fertility, ability One experimental trial has already been established in Johnstown to sequester carbon and protection of water quality.

Castle, Co Wexford by Teagasc, and contains E. nitens, Italian alder (Alnus cordata) and Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) planted at four Information for grant schemes – It is hoped that this research different spacings (0.5 x 0.5 m, 1 x 1 m, 2 x 1 m and 2.5 x 2.5 m). can further assist in the provision of information contributing to It is hoped to compare and contrast growth performance between the development of grant schemes and incentives to support short species and at different spacings. It will be necessary to evaluate rotation forestry. Such schemes if supported by Government may growth responses to competition, and optimum spacing for biomass assist in the provision of biomass to the renewable sectors. production.

For more information on the project, contact Dr Conor O’Reilly, +353 1 7167191, conor.oreilly@ucd.ie.

For more information on the Teagasc field trials, contact ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY The ShortFor project will evaluate the economic sustainability of Dr Niall Farrelly, +353 91 845200, niall.farrelly@teagasc.ie Authors: Dr Conor O'Reilly UCD, Dr Brian Tobin UCD and SRF systems for renewable wood energy generation by investigating the potential supply and demand of SRF and the operational cost Dr Niall Farrelly Teagasc.

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COMMERCIAL FEATURE

OAKLEAF FORESTRY – A MARKET LEADER IN FORESTRY MACHINERY

Oakleaf imports and distributes forestry machinery from all the leading brands, including Palax, Kesla, Kranman Rexon, Hypro,Vimek, Dorn–Tec, and Collino forestry machinery. he County Armagh based operation offers a complete, market– leading product range of modern low–impact forestry machinery – tough, reliable, fuel–efficient and service–friendly machines that are as easy on the operator as they are on the forest.

The range of equipment distributed includes forestry chippers, trailers and cranes; firewood processors; harvesting and processing equipment; mini harvesters and forwarders; log splitters and conveyors; and kindling machines.

Oakleaf Forestry have recently taken on two new brands from Sweden – Hypro and Vimek. Hypro specialises in tractor processors, while Vimek specialises in small, lightweight, low–impact harvesters and forwarders.

Hypro manufactures the fastest and most effective tractor processors on the market – a range of machines designed to appeal equally to contractors and to farmers and self–employed forest owners. Hypro machines combine kindness to the environment with high capacity

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of the drawbacks found in their larger counterparts.This type of equipment is attractive because it offers much lower capital outlay with a fraction of the running costs and allows contractors to operate in woodlands that would not permit the use of large conventional harvesters and forwarders.

Mini–forwarders are ideal for serving small woods and estates where low impact systems are preferred.They are easily transported between sites using a 4X4 and trailer yet have terrain capability equal to larger purpose–built units.Vimek’s harvesters boast a dual turning function: they can pivot both in the centre and at the front axle, which gives extreme manoeuvrability that allows the operator to adapt the driving to the forest instead of the other way around.

There’s a lot of small, private forestry in Ireland and the UK, and Vimek and Hypro machinery is ideal for that.These machines are tailored towards smaller harvesters and environmentally sensitive sites.They have low fuel consumption and have minimal impact on

“Oakleaf Forestry also offer a design and specification service to customers that have a particular requirement and offer a bespoke,tailored solution to their specific requests,offering services to farmers, and contractors etc. who wish to diversify into the area of forestry” the environment and on the ground.They also have a range of smaller equipment for farmers operating on a small scale, such as PTO saw benches and log splitters, while Dorn–Tec from Germany manufactures cone splitters to fit on diggers which are a great way of breaking timber down so that it can fit through a processor or wood chipper.

Oakleaf Forestry strive to ensure that their impact on the environment remains at the lowest level possible.Their environmental awareness ranges from the management of waste to the use of effective delivery methods. By offering a range of timber harvesting, and processing and transporting equipment that are extremely fuel efficient and SERVICES INCLUDE • Fitting forestry cranes to tractors including the fabrication of bespoke have a low impact on the forest, they are helping our customers and window guards and belly guards for overall enhancement of operator the industry to reduce their effect on the environment.

For further information: Tel: 0044 7977210592, safety.

• Installation of harvesting heads on diggers, including the integration Email: info@oakleafforestry.com or visit the website www.oakleafforestry.com of controls and computerised measuring equipment.

• Bespoke timber handling attachments.

• Hoppers and conveyors for firewood, woodchip, etc.

and reliability while remaining a very affordable solution to smaller scale harvesting jobs.

Oakleaf Forestry also offer a design and specification service to customers that have a particular requirement and offer a bespoke, tailored solution to their specific requests, offering services to farmers, and contractors etc. who wish to diversify into the area of forestry.By adapting their existing machinery to suit another application, they strive to meet the specific needs of all customers and provide practical advice and effective service for all.

Vimek, meanwhile, produces a range of mini–forwarders and harvesters which have the all benefits of hydraulic loaders but none

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BIOMASS FEATURE

POTENTIAL OF MISCANTHUS TO DISPLACE FOSSIL FUEL CO2 EMISSIONS AND SEQUESTER CARBON

Biomass fuels are promoted as alternative energy sources to offset fossil–based energy CO2 emissions and hence reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from agriculture in the UK and Ireland, writes Rodrigo Olave, Greg Forbes, Chris Johnston and Scott Laidlaw of the Environment and Renewable Energy Centre, Agri–Food and Biosciences Institute (Hillsborough, Northern Ireland).

120 kW multi–fuel boiler at the Environment and Renewable Energy Centre, AFBI Hillsborough.

INTRODUCTION

of the technical issues surrounding its growth and utilisation locally To help inform decisions on their use, the GHG balances of energy need to be addressed before it can be considered as a viable land crops such as Miscanthus need to be compared with those of other use option.These issues are being addressed at AFBI Hillsborough. renewable energy technologies to evaluate the range of their carbon emissions and removals.

AFBI Hillsborough conducts research on the effects of the adoption of renewable energy technologies by measuring GHG emissions and carbon savings from these technologies, including heat from biomass.

Several renewable energy technologies and a district heating system were installed in 2009 to heat office and farm buildings and provide hot washing–water for the 50 cow milking parlour. Although the biomass comes mainly from short rotation willow, other biomass fuels such as forest brash and Miscanthus have been used.The heat is primarily supplied by a 320 kW wood–fired boiler and a 120 kW multi–fuel biomass boiler.

Miscanthus is a perennial crop with relatively high annual yields and promising features to reduce GHG emissions and sequester carbon. It is well established in several EU countries as a source of biomass for energy.

Miscanthus has become a relatively widely grown biomass crop in England and has also been planted on a smaller scale in Ireland.

However, for a variety of reasons, Miscanthus has not experienced significant levels of planting nor has it been used commercially as a Miscanthus plantation at AFBI Hillsborough biomass fuel in Northern Ireland.The crop has potential but a number

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BIOMASS FEATURE Application of cattle slurry with a trailing shoe spreader on Miscanthus at AFBI Hillsborough

1. MISCANTHUS RESEARCH AT AFBI HILLSBOROUGH

2. QUANTIFYING STRATEGIES TO OFFSET AND REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS

A. Carbon emission mitigation Research on Miscanthus at AFBI Hillsborough started in 2007 to Results from AFBI research show that the average energy content provide information on the field scale growing of the crop as a of Miscanthus grown at Hillsborough ranges from 18.0 to 19.05MJ/kg biomass fuel for small to medium scale boilers. Results from this (DM) and yields can be 15 t DM/ha.At these values, Miscanthus investigation showed that planting at high density with plastic could produce the equivalent energy of 4,000 to 6,000 litres of mulch could increase growth of the crop in the early years, heating oil per hectare according to moisture content. Before the something which would affect its early yields and ultimately, the Centre was linked to the district heating system,AFBI Hillsborough carbon balance of the crop.

The timing of harvesting, either early winter before leaf fall or after, in had, on average, been emitting around 481t CO2e/year from oil–based late winter, affects biomass yield and moisture contents of the crop heating.A large proportion of this annual fossil fuel usage has been replaced by approximately 120 tonnes of biomass, mainly willow which also has implications in terms of the reduction in carbon emissions and savings. Miscanthus is reported to have a low nutrient woodchip.There has been on average a 40% reduction in fossil fuel use per year, and concomitant reduction of 240 tonnes CO2e/year. If requirement, and our research found no response to cattle slurry– Miscanthus only had been used to deliver this heat energy, at a current suggesting that the zero–input cultivation of Miscanthus may price of £ 65/tonne, financial savings over oil use would have been generate less GHG emissions than other energy crops which generally almost £26,000/year. require to be supplemented with nutrients.

More recently it has been found that its chemical composition and Preliminary results also show that based on estimated yields of 15 t calorific value can directly affect the residues and emissions from DM/ha/year, Miscanthus can be expected to displace between 0.86 and 1.55 t C/ha/year of fossil fuel emissions, when used for energy combustion. Energy outputs and gaseous emissions were found to be comparable to those from willow biomass but naturally high levels in production.

It is considered that the CO2 emitted through the burning of Miscanthus Miscanthus of Silicon contributed to significantly higher amount of biomass is balanced by the CO2 absorbed in growing the crop, ash and clinker being produced,compared to willow. Lime is often added resulting in no net increase in atmospheric CO2. This balance to prevent the excessive build up of clinker in the boiler combustion includes sources of GHG emissions emanating from cultivation, chamber. Other elements, for example Chlorine and Potassium, can harvesting, processing and also transportation from within the fuel exacerbate corrosion problems in certain types of boilers and flue systems. production cycle, there are, Several other aspects of Miscanthus crop production have also been investigated by Teagasc.All this information, including the B. Carbon sequestration associated processes that lead to CO2 emissions, is of importance to Miscanthus can sequester carbon by increasing the storage of quantify the environmental impacts of heat production from Miscanthus. carbon (C) in biomass and soil, thus removing CO2 from the However, carbon mitigation and capture have not been extensively atmosphere for some time. Carbon accumulates in the Miscanthus investigated, though Miscanthus might offer the additional opportunity ecosystem if there is a positive balance between C gain, through to increase C sequestration and decrease GHG emissions, thus providing photosynthesis and C loss, by respiration of soil, roots and shoots, additional mitigation capacity by replacing an equivalent amount harvested biomass and in drainage water.Although C accumulates in of fossil fuel and also avoiding fossil fuel carbon release to the rhizomes and roots of Miscanthus, it has to remain within the ecosystem atmosphere. to be sequestered. Carbon in subterranean parts of Miscanthus is quite

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BIOMASS FEATURE Soil respiration measurement on Miscanthus

tightly locked up as Miscanthus biomass decomposes very slowly, consequently much of the C is likely to remain within the soil system.

However, the balance between gain and loss of C is likely to be lower in crops grown in more northerly regions.

Estimates by AFBI show that potential photosynthesis rates are lower than in crops grown in warmer climes. Further, while leaf respiration rates during the growing season are relatively low (less than 10% of the rate of gross photosynthesis), 6 t C/ha can be lost

The GHG emissions saved for production of the same amount of heat production can vary due to source of biomass. If Miscanthus was the main source of biomass fuel utilised at AFBI Hillsborough, it would secure a 40% GHG emissions reduction on the previous system solely based on fossil fuel.

Quantifying carbon storage by a Miscanthus crop is a necessary step to assess and evaluate the role of this ecosystem in offsetting fossil fuel emissions and to calculate carbon footprint over its whole lifecycle.

This research is funded by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD)

“Carbon accumulates in the Miscanthus ecosystem if there is a positive balance between C gain, through photosynthesis and C loss, by respiration of soil, roots and shoots, harvested biomass and in drainage water” during this period from soil/root/rhizome respiration.This latter loss seems to be independent of crop density and so the crops with higher rhizome and root mass do not necessarily lose more C by respiration.

This adds support to the view that Miscanthus roots and rhizomes decompose slowly.

Estimates of C sequestration by Miscanthus crops planted into long term arable soil in south east Ireland have been in the range 2–3 t C/ha/annum. However, crops planted into grassland soils, that usually have much higher organic C content, are likely to sequester less. Rate of growth, density, ground cover and age of the crop are all likely to affect sequestration.Therefore, the rate of sequestration in crops planted into grassland soils here, while likely to be significant, might be more modest than plantations in arable soils in areas more conducive to Miscanthus growth.

4. CONCLUSIONS The uptake of Miscanthus for biomass heating has been slow over the last number of years; however Miscanthus could facilitate inroads into the target of reducing Northern Ireland’s emissions from renewable sources. Preliminary results show why Miscanthus could also be attractive in helping to achieve an improved whole farm carbon balance.

However, though it is acknowledged that issues over gaseous emissions and ash production exist, these are being addressed by new advances in combustion technology.

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Photosynthesis measurements on Miscanthus

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COMMERCIAL FEATURE

MISCANTHUS MAKE SENSE

It is time for a major review.The questions are simple and the answers are straightforward.

Paddy O’Toole and David Tyrrell, Quinns of Baltinglass report.

David Tyrrell, Agricultural Consultant, demonstrating the importance of good fertility and soil structure. Note the difference in height.

Patrick Nolan and Paddy O’Toole looking at this year’s growth and 1 expect it to top this Springs yield of 7 /2 Tonnes @ 34% moisture content

HOW DOES MISCANTHUS COMPARE TO FOSSIL FUELS?

And yet, unbelievably, the European Commission has decided that miscanthus may not be included as a greening crop in the proposed new Single Farm Payment Scheme. This is being vigorously challenged.

To compare “like with like” we must look at the respective energy output from both and this is measured in terms of gigajoules of energy.

• 1 tonne of harvested miscanthus at 20% moisture content will produce 14 gigajoules of energy.

• 1,000 litres of heating oil will produce 32 gigajoules of energy 1 1,000 litres of heating oil can therefore be replaced by 2 /2 tonnes of miscanthus at 20% moisture content. So it is entirely possible to replace up to 3,000 litres of oil from just 1 acre of fully established miscanthus.

IS MISCANTHUS EASY TO GROW?

Miscanthus is an easy crop to establish once all the guidelines are strictly adhered to.Annual yields of circa. 6 – 7 tonnes per acre in established crops are very achievable if: 1 Miscanthus is planted in top yielding cereal soils.

2 Miscanthus is grown in fertile soils.

3 Miscanthus receives circa. 100 units of Potash per annum which is equivalent to what it uses.

4 Only Rhizomes which are harvested from crops which have IS MISCANTHUS ENVIRONMENTALLY been planted for less than 6 years are used.

FRIENDLY? 5 Only Rhizomes which have been stored at 4 – 50C from time of Yes it is – From two points of view Firstly in its ability to reduce fossil derived carbon emissions or harvesting to time of planting are used.This is to ensure maximum vigour. greenhouse gases.

Secondly as miscanthus does not require annual cultivation unlike 6 Seeding rate is increased by 50% – to ensure that miscanthus will reach maximum yield potential earlier i.e. in year 4. arable crops, it has the ability to remove from the atmosphere 7 Good weed control is practiced – ordinary cereal herbicides in and store in its underground root systems large quantities of year 1 and annual applications of Round Up will probably be carbon: For example a 4 year old crop will have 20 tonnes of underground required until the crop is fully established.

8 Headlands are left unplanted as any trafficking on the crop in root mass per hectare containing 9.2 tonnes of carbon. the Spring time may well result in a stunting effect on the crop.

Oilseed rape conversely requires annual cultivation which has the effect of depleting soil carbon and adding carbon to the HOW DOES MISCANTHUS COMPARE TO GROWING atmosphere.

CEREALS? Miscanthus also has a very positive contribution to make with Cereal growers are very aware of the uncertainty that surrounds respect to Biodiversity. Trials have clearly shown beneficial effects the industry from year to year. on wildlife habitats in areas where it is grown.

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COMMERCIAL FEATURE Political instability throughout the world, climatic factors, yield fluctuations all contribute to this uncertainty and risk. Miscanthus is different!

There is a guaranteed minimum price for miscanthus and there is even without any further government support a viable market for these growers within a 50mile radius of Edenderry Power Station.

Following a nett outlay of €500 – €600 per acre (assuming a government grant of circa. €500 per acre) a crop of miscanthus will only require minimal annual amounts of circa. €50 – €75 per acre for the next 20 – 25 years. What a difference in costs to growing wheat barley or oats!

Even with present limited market opportunities there is an outlet for far more miscanthus than is presently produced.

Edenderry Power Station is paying €6.65 per gigajoule or circa. €93 per tonne @ 20% moisture content and even this price often presents margins much greater than in cereals e.g. 5 tonnes miscanthus delivered to Edenderry Power Station @ 20% moisture content 5 tonnes @ €90 per tonne Less €20 per tonne (delivery) Less harvesting @ €20 per tonne Less €50 per acre potash/Round Up Net margin per acre

€450 €100 €350 €100 €250 €50 €200

Table 1

Nett Margin per acre NB Repayments of circa. €100 per acre for 7 years to repay initial net capital outlay of €600 per acre is not included Assumptions Harvesting costs – €100 per acre in chipped form Transport costs – @ €20 per tonne

Miscanthus @ 20% moisture content @ €80/tonne is equivalent to heating oil @ 20 cent/litre @ €90/tonne is equivalent to heating oil @ 22.5 cent/litre @ €100/tonne is equivalent to heating oil @ 25 cent/litre @ €120/tonne is equivalent to heating oil @ 30 cent/litre @ €130/tonne is equivalent to heating oil @ 32.5 cent/litre The most energy efficient and cost effective way to use miscanthus to replace fossil fuels is: 1.

Use it in close proximity to where the crop is grown 2.

Use it in either “big bale” form or chipped form.

There are “big bale” commercial miscanthus burners in use all over the East Midlands of England and more and more of them are being installed every year.

The UK has a scheme operating called the Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme (RHI Scheme). It was launched in November 2011 and owners of these Commercial Biomass Burners get a refund of up to circa. £100,000 per annum for using Biomass burners between 250 kw and 1,000 kw in capacity.

The whole industry in Ireland has been anxiously waiting for a similar scheme to be introduced for the last couple of years and while much has been expected nothing as usual has been delivered by any of the Government Departments whose responsibility it is to look after such matters.

While the miscanthus growers and indeed promoters of renewable energy crops have been the unfortunate guinea pigs over the last 7 years, the potential end users i.e. the big commercial users of heating oil are not prepared to invest heavily in changing over to Biomass burners unless there is a coherent and attractive scheme introduced by the Government.

Following the recent Government reshuffle a new team of ministers and junior ministers have been appointed and should have by now not just a policy strategy in place but a very tight time schedule for its implementation.

Ireland is presently a sitting target for annual penalties of up to €500,000,000 if it, and it surely will, fail to meet its renewable heat obligations by 2020. Bioenergy crops like miscanthus and willow can play a very significant role in reducing these penalties but only if the new “powers that be” address these issues in both a practical and reasonable way.

“The whole industry in Ireland has been anxiously waiting for a similar scheme to be introduced for the last couple of years and while much has been expected nothing as usual has been delivered by any of the Government Departments whose responsibility it is to look after such matters” The profitability of supplying chipped miscanthus to Edenderry WHAT IS IMMEDIATELY REQUIRED IS THE Power Station is very dependent on transport costs and growing IMMINENT INTRODUCTION OF A:miscanthus far away from the Power Station is very questionable i) Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme (RHI). for this reason. ii) Grant Aid to support pilot commercial burners from 250kw to 999kw capacity.

Average transport costs are as follows: iii) The inclusion of miscanthus as a “Greening Crop” in the new Single Farm Payment Scheme.

Miles to Edenderry Power Station iv) The continuation of the existing Dept. of Agriculture < 30 miles €16/TN delivered Establishment Grant Scheme.

30 – 50 miles €16 – €24/TN delivered It makes absolute sense that a little money spent now will save 50 – 70 miles €24 – €30/TN delivered 100’s of millions of euros in penalties in the years to come.

70 – 90 miles €30 – €35/TN delivered Up to 90 miles €35 – €37/TN delivered For further information visit www.quinns.ie or call When one compares miscanthus to fossil fuels, changing over to Paddy O’ Toole Tel. 087 2549234 miscanthus would appear to be a “no brainer” David Tyrrell Tel. 087 8257190

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SYCAMORE FEATURE

GENETIC IMPROVEMENT OF SYCAMORE BY FUTURE TREES TRUST Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) is a native broadleaved tree species to central and southern Europe. Rodrigo J. Olave (AFBI) and Gerry C. Douglas (Teagasc) report.

breeding, which sets out the case for a wider use of improved Sycamore trees.

The strategy involves developing an optimal genetic improvement programme for Sycamore through the planting of Seed Orchards followed by further testing, selection, breeding and vegetative propagation of selected material.Additional investigations into the genetic variation of Sycamore within and among populations in the UK and Ireland using existing and new field trials in terms of quality, productivity potential and genetic diversity at the molecular level will also be explored.

To date, superior parent trees (Plus trees) have been selected from natural stands in the UK and Ireland and brought together in complete collections of grafted Plus trees which have been field planted in Northern Ireland and Scotland to produce genetically improved seed for sycamore tree planting programmes.

1. SYCAMORE SEED PRODUCING ORCHARDS

Selected Plus tree of Sycamore, Bathurst Estate, Cirencester, UK. Note absence of forks and a straight stem of ten meters.

INTRODUCTION The species has been naturalised far beyond its native range, becoming an established forestry crop in the UK and Ireland.There is a growing interest in using Sycamore because of its significant economical and ecological contribution to the forestry sector. Most of the current Sycamore planting in the UK and Ireland is still based on tree seedlings derived from seed collected from unselected populations. Future Tree Trust (FTT), a consortium of many of the UK and Ireland’s landowners, forestry practitioners, breeders, scientists and organisations from across the forestry and ecological sectors are collaborating in long term programmes focused on the selection and provision of improved trees for timber production and to raise awareness of its benefits.

The FTT consortium members believe that the breeding of Sycamore trees backed up by appropriate research will improve their growth rate, form and resilience to diseases, resulting in trees more productive, healthy and adaptable and better able to cope with predicted climate change.There is currently a genetic improvement strategy for Sycamore to optimize genetic gain, while reducing the time for each cycle of

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Seed orchards are plantations of trees which are established for the sole purpose of generating seeds for nurseries and forests. Seed orchards are unique in that each seed producing tree is specially selected based on the phenotype of the mother tree and the performance of the progeny from that tree. Seed orchards are actively managed, and therefore the seeds are easier to collect when compared with mature trees in seed stands. Importantly, the seeds from seed orchards can be marketed under an EC Directive in the category ‘Qualified’.This category represents a level of genetic improvement which is two stages higher that the lowest genetic category of ‘Source identified’, from which almost all of the Sycamore seeds used at present, are derived.

Seed orchards may have their origins as breeding seedling orchards or as clonal seed orchards.A breeding seedling orchard consists of trees that are raised from seedlings produced by selected trees. In both types of seed orchard the selection process is based on extensive surveys of forests and the identification of trees which display a superior stem form, wood quality and growth at the mature stage; such trees are designated as Plus trees.

To establish breeding seedling orchards, the seeds are collected from individual Plus trees, germinated and established in field tests where the performance of each family of trees is evaluated over several years. Based on growth data, the best performing families are noted and all families are ranked for performance.This ranking reflects the capacity of each mother tree to pass on its genes to progeny, irrespective of the father tree.Thereafter the test plantations are thinned out and the best performing trees within the best performing families are retained within the plantation.The retained trees then constitute the parent trees from which seeds are collected in a breeding seedling orchard.

The alternative formation of a seed orchard is to clonally propagate the selected Plus trees and use them to interbreed and produce seeds.

This approach results in a shorter period to produce usable quantities of seeds for the nurseries and has been adopted for Sycamore by the FTT. The parent trees within a clonal seed orchard consist of genetic copies of selected, mature Plus trees. Over the past eight years, most forest

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SYCAMORE FEATURE estates which have mature sycamore (50–80 yrs old) in the UK and Ireland have been surveyed and individual Plus trees have been selected and vegetatively propagated by grafting.Trees have been selected within mature woodlands because the phenotypes which mature trees displayed represented the interaction of the environment with the genotype over several decades of the trees’ growth. In the early spring of each year, the shoots from the tops of Plus trees were collected by shooting down branches and then grafting the shoots onto seedling rootstocks.

This is the most efficient way to vegetatively propagate mature sycamore and 58 % of all graftings which were made, produced viable trees. Over several years we have propagated and accumulated a stock of 75 Plus trees from Ireland (north and south) and 110 from Great Britain.

All of these grafted Plus trees were first established in the field as a conservation collection at Teagasc, Kinsealy, Dublin. It serves as a gene bank resource of shoots which can be utilised to clonally propagate trees to constitute seed orchards for the future.

CSO Falgunzeon

CSO Loughgall

2. CURRENT CLONAL SYCAMORE SEED ORCHARDS Two complete clonal Sycamore seed orchards (CSO) have been established by FTT at the Agri–Food & Biosciences Institute (AFBI) Loughgall, Co.Armagh, Northern Ireland in 2009 and the Forestry Commission (GB) at Falgunzeon, Dumfries, Scotland in 2014. Grafting was used to propagate material from the mature Plus trees and also for bulking up multiple copies of each Plus tree as needed.

The sites are gently undulating and are homogeneous in soil structure and fertility, with ease of access for management during and after the establishment and good conditions for pollination that will benefit flowering and fruiting. Rows of Alnus codata and Betula pubescens shelterbelts were also established to minimize exposure.

The CSOs at Loughgall and Falgunzeon were planted with 185 and

“Seed orchards may have their origins as breeding seedling orchards or as clonal seed orchards.A breeding seedling orchard consists of trees that are raised from seedlings produced by selected trees” 159 Plus trees respectively and each orchard consisted of four plants of each Plus tree (ramets). It represents a large portion of the genetic diversity within the gene pool of Sycamore in the British Isles because the selected Plus trees came from many woodlands over a wide geographic area. Both CSO’s were established at relatively wide spacings (4.5m x 4.5m) , clearly demarcated with signs indicating necessary details. All plants were marked with a tag carrying the accession number and planting position according to the prescribed genetic orchard design.

Both orchard designs were arranged to minimise inbreeding and encourage out– crossing between the Plus trees.This will maximise genetic gain while maintaining an acceptable level of genetic diversity in the seed crop.A permutated neighbourhood design programme (COOL) was used to provide a layout to establish both CSOs.This design ensures that each ramet of each Plus tree is surrounded by a different set of Plus trees at each location in the seed orchard to minimise potential for inbreeding and maximise potential for intercrossing.

Any trees which failed to establish have been replaced when necessary and the replacement has been subjected to careful consideration to avoid any major disturbance of the orchard design.All plants have been kept free from weed competition and fertilisation has yet not been necessary.

Clonal Sycamore Seed Orchards at AFBI Loughgall & Forestry Commission Falgunzeon

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SYCAMORE FEATURE Grafted trees of Sycamore using shoots from selected Plus trees at Teagasc, Kinsealy, Dublin

In the near future, thinning and/or pruning will be undertaken to Firkins (Maelor Forest Nurseries), Keith Mills (Bathurst Estate), ensure an open crown to encourage seed production and facilitate Charles Dutton (Pryor & Rickett Silviculture), Andrew Clark collection.The seed will be used for progeny tests and after evaluation, (Forestry Consultant), Andrew Leslie (Univ. Cumbria) Rob Lee all inferior Sycamore Plus trees will be removed from the orchard to (Forestart) Jo Clark (Earth Trust) David Boshier (Univ. Of Oxford), increase genetic quality of the seed produced by the remaining trees Tim Rowland (Development Officer FTT). in the orchard.After three growing seasons the CSO at AFBI Loughgall Further details can be found on the Future Trees Trust has begun to produce small quantities of seeds. However If seed website http://www.futuretrees.org/ production is unsatisfactory, flowering induction treatments will be considered.

3. SEED ORCHARDS NEEDED The demand for Sycamore plants is expected to increase over future years due to the recognition that species diversity in forests is an important strategy to safeguard production from threats of emerging pests and diseases as well as climate change and may be a substitute for Ash in certain locations. Currently, Irish nurseries have a requirement of 3–500 kg of fresh seed / year. Each kilo of dry seeds will produce approximately 1200 saleable saplings. Data from German seed orchards indicates an average production of 70 kg of seed / ha / yr, over four consecutive years. However, it should be noted that annual production / ha fluctuated from four to 165 kg / ha, depending on the year.

It is difficult to estimate the most desirable area of land to dedicate to supply British and Irish nurseries with all of their seed needs from ‘Qualified’ seed orchards.

Demand for Sycamore saplings has fluctuated in Ireland from 1.6 million in 1999 to 0.22 million in 2007.The average plant demand in this period was 0.75 million Sycamore tree seedlings / year. In order to plan ahead for this level of seed production from seed orchards it is estimated that 8.9 ha of seed orchards would be needed.

Furthermore, it should be noted that Sycamore seeds cannot be accumulated and stored for the long term because of their short viability period. In addition, seed production can vary with location and year therefore the FTT has decided it would be prudent to establish several seed orchards in several locations across the UK and Ireland.

Other collaborators are: Gavin Munro (Forestry Consultant), John McNamara (Teagasc), Michael Carey (Forestry Consultant), Rob Sykes, Alistair Macleod, Steve Lee,Alan Harrison,Victoria Stokes (Forest Genetic diversity reflected in diverse morphologies of seeds from 16 different Plus trees produced in the conservation collection Teagasc, Kinsealy Research),Andy Leitch & Alan Gale (Forestry Commission), Sam

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COMMERCIAL FEATURE

ECC TIMBER PRIMED FOR THE FUTURE

ECC Teo have grown from humble beginnings since 1992 under the management and guidance of managing director PJ Fahy to become one of Ireland’s leading timber processors supplying homegrown construction, fencing and pallet products to the Irish and UK timber markets.

J Fahy is very proud of the success.“Annual usage in 1992 was 25,000m3; we can now process this in less than 3 weeks.”

Despite many challenges in the early years of the company the dedication of PJ and his young team quickly established the company as a quality producer allowing it to develop through a series of investment programs focused on proven high production machinery from North American suppliers USNR and Carbotech.

Mr Fahy is in no doubt that the success of the company can be directly attributed to the quality and commitment of the company’s workforce.“Most of our current production staff and management team were part of the young group who started back in 1992,” he said.This commitment and dedication is still very much in evidence today throughout the company from the forestry and accounts departments to the production and sales teams which are based at the companies head office in Corr na Mona, Galway. General manager Daryl Fahy said,“the flexibility and cooperation we get from our production team in particular has a positive impact on the level of service we can offer our customers which is vital in today’s demanding market”.

Following a number of years consolidating the initial development of the company, the recent economic downturn instigated another major phase of investment culminating in a €5million planing and added value line which was commissioned in July 2011 producing high quality stress graded planed all round construction timber.

Having traditionally supplied up to 30% of output mainly in fencing and pallet products to the UK market, the new facility enabled the company to offer the full range of construction timber to their long established UK customer base increasing exports to over 75%,maintaining full production through a number of difficult years for the industry.

Time spent researching the pack quantity and storage requirements of the construction market as well as a stringent quality control

P

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process meant the ECC product offering was at the top end of the market from the beginning, maintenance and project manager Pat Mullarkey remarked,“Partnering industry leading suppliers for a turnkey solution has meant we shortened the learning curve and produced a top quality product from the off”.

The success of the investment also required a major effort from the company’s sales and marketing team which is lead by ECC sales manager John Diskin. He said,“the response from both our new and existing customer base in the UK has been extremely positive, despite generally tough market conditions the high level

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COMMERCIAL FEATURE of quality homegrown construction products now on offer has caused a major shift towards homegrown suppliers from traditionally imported sources”.

These efforts have resulted in over 75% of ECC Teo’s sawn output of 200,000m3 now being delivered to the UK market on a daily basis.This customer base is serviced by two dedicated sales offices located in Liverpool and Suffolk. A highly motivated production team led by production manager Paraic O' Malley are responsible for maintaining this high level of service.“The multitude of products and treatments on each order combined with our mutli drop service requires an intense level of planning on a daily basis,” said Mr O' Malley. However, Mr Diskin is quick to acknowledge the resilience and loyalty of the home market in Ireland.“The past five years has resulted in huge consolidation across the merchant business in Ireland, the big result of this means our current Irish customer base are in an excellent position to take on the recent lift in construction activity at home in Ireland, we are very optimistic for the potential of Irish business going forward.”

to increase, the ISO 9001 scheme has provided a solid base for satisfying these requirements”.

Like any member of the Irish sawmilling industry, the underlying success of the business relies on a secure supply of round log at market related prices. Recent intense competition for logs on the Coillte Electronic Auction has resulted in log prices being pushed to a record high.With total production now exceeding 400,000m3 per annum, the company is strongly focused on the increasing private supply now coming to the industry in addition to the incumbent supply from Coillte.

To this end, the company has been building relationships with forestry companies and growers alike throughout the country.

Procurement Manager Willie Nally is confident that this new supply stream will compliment the majority supply currently being obtained from Coillte.“Recent efforts made with the private forestry sector by forestry and farming agencies such as Teagasc is helping to improve the maintenance and upkeep of private forests which will lead to the maximisation of millable

“the response from both our new and existing customer base in the UK has been extremely positive, despite generally tough market conditions the high level of quality homegrown construction products now on offer has caused a major shift towards homegrown suppliers from traditionally imported sources” Further to the establishment of the second UK sales office, the management team at ECC maintain a progressive attitude towards the general running of the company. Managing director PJ Fahy emphasises the importance of this. He said,“with log, energy, and haulage costs continuing to increase dramatically, it has never been more important to have an efficient production base”.This year the production team adopted a new lean manufacturing practice called OEE (Overall equipment effectiveness) which uses a number of key performance indicators to evaluate and drive improvements and efficiencies on the production line. Maintenance manager Pat Mullarkey said,“this simple method of reporting has driven efficiency levels on our main line to over 93%”. The company has also continued to maintain its focus on quality, last year it achieved ISO 9001 quality management certification forming a key part of the company’s quality assurance programs which general manager Daryl Fahy said,“an established quality system is quickly becoming a requisite to supplying construction and fencing timber as regulations and standards for building materials continue

timber and in turn value to the forest owner”.The Forestry team at ECC is offering a complete forest marketing package to forest owners from advise on felling license application and road construction to the management and supply of harvesting and extraction contractors.

ECC maintains a secure TRS (Timber Removal System) for all private forestry whereby each load is alerted to the owner by text notification prior to removal and tracked with a Timber Removal Permit.

After a number of challenging years for the industry the managing director PJ Fahy remains typically optimistic for the future.“There is no doubt that the last 6 years have brought dramatic changes to the economic climate around the world, now more than ever it is vital that we focus on the demands of our customers. We offer high quality products practically on a just in time basis to meet their needs. In order to achieve this we must have a consistent secure viable source of raw material, at ECC we are willing and eager to work with suppliers to make this happen.”

For further information visit the website www.ecc.ie or Tel: 094 9548255.

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COMMERCIAL FEATURE

FORESTRY INVESTMENT ALWAYS A GOOD BUY!

Paul Lafferty of www.forestsales.ie currently has one of the largest collections of forests available for sale throughout Ireland, with an ever increasing amount of forestry becoming available – all of which are available to view on our dedicated forestry portal: www.forestsales.ie.

Ballylanders Co. Limerick

this trend to continue into the foreseeable future. Paul has forests urrently listed on our website, we have over 6,000 acres for sale in all four provinces.These plantations vary in size from available throughout all of Ireland, which are of varying 8–10 acres up to larger plantations of 400+ acres. acres and we are continually selling plantations on a regular basis.

SOME DETAILS REGARDING THE LARGER There are a number of reasons and factors why forestry is fast PLANTATIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS: becoming the No. 1 investment opportunity.

Mainly, the planting of forestry began in earnest in the early 1990’s Ulster {Donegal: 366 acres and 413 acres} with the introduction of 100% Grant aid and forest premium for a Dowra: 269 acres.

Munster: Kerry: 123 acres and 188 acres.

20 year period.

Tipperary: 130 Acres.

Many of these plantations are now coming to 20 years of age and the owners are now considering selling these forest properties as Leinster: Edenderry: 132 acres. the premiums have been run down or in the case of properties over Connaught: Galway: 234 Acres. Loughatorick: 234.

Paul Lafferty also specialises in land suitable for forestry plantation.

20 years of age, have stopped.

If you are interested in either buying or selling forests or bare Also, one must bear in mind, the age profile of the owners of

C

“Many of these plantations are now coming to 20 years of age and the owners are now considering selling these forest properties as the premiums have been run down or in the case of properties over 20 years of age, have stopped” these plantations has also increased and many do not wish to take on the management of thinning’s and harvesting plantations.

From speaking to colleagues in the industry, our best estimate of total completed volume of forests sold in Ireland is in the order of 5,000 acres per annum and our statistics show that the average size is 25-30 acres.

As you will note from these figures, there is quite a buoyant and ever increasing market in forests in Ireland and Paul Lafferty is expecting

lands, please do not hesitate to contact Paul on 086-2599189 / 09496-20540 via email: forestsales.ie@gmail.com.

Paul has extensive knowledge of the forestry industry, having first qualified as a forester and later as an Auctioneer so his is very well placed to give the best possible advice to those who wish to invest or to those who wish to sell their investment.

Full details of all available properties can be found by logging onto: www.forestsales.ie.

Rearcross, Co. Tipperary

Carns Co. Sligo

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