Fuelwood Plantations
During the last decade, many Americans have changed the way they heat their
homes. Vast numbers of people have increased their use of wood and decreased
their reliance on fossil fuels for heating. In 1972, fewer than 200,000
wood stoves were sold annually in the United States; in 1979, more than
1.5 million were sold. One of the most appealing aspects of wood heating
is that it relies on a renewable resource. Unfortunately, the enormous increase
in the use of fuelwood has not been matched by increases in the renewal
or production of our wood resources.
Part of the problem lies in the misconception that it takes several decades
to produce trees. Naturally people are reluctant to undertake projects that
may tie up assets for that long. But although it can take a very long time
to grow large, sawlog-size trees of some species, other trees can be grown
for fuelwood logs in as little as ten years. Chippable wood (biomass) that
can be used to fuel grain driers, space heaters, or even electric generating
plants can be produced in as little as four years. After the original energy
plantation is cut, second and third crops of fuelwood will grow from the
coppice or stump sprouts and can be harvested after only a few years. Genetically
superior clones of certain tree species and new cultural techniques have
substantially reduced tree-farming costs and the amount of time that must
elapse before a fuelwood farmer can realize some return on money and land
invested in a fuelwood plantation.
This leaflet presents general information obtained to date on growing small-scale,
private plantations. Research at the University of Illinois has concentrated
mainly on techniques of planting and of using fuelwood that would be compatible
with the equipment and fuel needs of a medium-size family farm. Much of
the system could be scaled down and adapted to the resources of a nonfarming
private landowner or scaled up for commercial fuelwood production.
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