It’s the tree with the faster growth in the world, on average five to six meters a year With the trunk that can exceed 26 centimeters in diameter in a three-year period, it has ideal roots for colonizing areas at risk of erosion or landslides, and absorbs heavy metals so it can reclaim contaminated land. But especially the paulownia cleans the air and absorbs up to 10 times more CO2 than any other tree: cultivated per hectare (at 600 plants) absorbed in a year 1200 tons of carbon dioxide, which corresponds to the emissions that a car releases over 100,000 kilometers. For this reason, the Princess Tree (in honor of Anna Paulovna, daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia and Queen of the Netherlands) is also known as a plant anti smogis widespread in reforestation and can issue CO2 certificates. There is 12 typesThe most resistant is the tomentosa, the fastest growing is the elongata, which is mainly cultivated for the extraction of wood and for the considerable production of biomass from waste. Therefore, we understand why this crop from China, between the need to extract energy, eliminate emissions and combat hydrogeological risks, after being used in the early 1800s. In Italy, it is the focus of several projects and many farmers looking for an income crop or a Looking for integration into the already started, consider the possibility of investing in this business. Out ofEmilia Romagna to the Piedmontof the Veneto to the Lazio.
The anti-smog system in times of crisis – Also because it responds to different needs in times of crisis. That nectar of lavender flowers is a lot valued by beeswhich come up to produce five quintals honey per hectare and leaves They are used as fodder for animals. In addition, the market price crisis of many grains has long pushed farms to diversify their production and also to focus on crops with added value such as wood or biomass trees. And paulownia lends itself to complementary uses. It adapts to almost all types of climates and soils (as long as they are well drained), even to drought, and its light wood is light and resistant, so much so that it ‘aluminum wood‘. It is used in the furniture industry, but also in the packaging industry, to make musical instruments such as Fender guitars, snowboards, skis and surfboards, and in shipbuilding. In general, the part of the trunk up to 6 meters is used for industry, the rest as biomass fuel. And its energy efficiency is very high: the pellet obtained from it has a calorific value between 4400 and about 5,000 Kcal / Kg (kicalories / kilogram). The biomass plantation ensures, among other things, lower costs in soil preparation and harvesting compared to those intended for industry.
From the lab to the field – They’re very interesting hybrids and clones developed by research centers over the last twenty years. FutureGreen, founded in Foggia in 2010 by Simon Rosito received the Hundred Italian Excellence Award in Montecitorio in 2017: it brought to Italy a clone created in Spain, from which it then developed its own clone and related industrial project. In four years you get a trunk with a minimum diameter of 32 centimeters and a knot-free height of at least 6 meters. A pine forest takes 25 years to reach the growth level of a 3 year old forest of this clone. The tree is characterized by large leaves, up to 70 centimeters in diameter. “The amount of CO2 bound by the leaves of the Paulownia at 17 months – explains Simona Rosito – is about 11 tons per hectare. For this reason, the plantations are suitable for production projects of carbon credits”. The wood produced is very valuable, while the biomass is particularly good for running plants combined heat and power and pyrogassing. “The goal of Future Green – explains Simona Rosito to ilfattoquotidiano.it – is to spread a mechanism of short supply chain of wood and biomass, based on the increase of the forested area, especially in degraded areas, which contributes to the achievement of energy autonomy ensures small and medium-sized farms by installing electric combined heat and power plants that run on self-produced paulownia biomass and restarting the wood industry”. From Apulia to Lombardy, he also witnessed the rapid growth of the plant Gabrielle GerhardiManaging Director of hobby garden of Navigli of Milan who planted the FutureGreen clone directly in his nursery. “Two years ago, together with Simona Rosito, we did an experiment and planted a small paulownia here – he tells ilfattoquotidiano.it – and last year I cut the driest part. From April to today in four months did five meters of vegetation. Let’s think what biomass potential it can create, also using land, in the Po Valley where nothing is cultivated anymore.
From farmers’ network to in vitro trade – Supply chains are created in different regions. The project ‘Paulownia network‘Started in 2017 in Emilia Romagna, where it grouped 23 firms. president Titian Alessandrini, former director of the Cna of Forlì and president of the Chamber of Commerce (as well as former regional councilor of the Democratic Party). Within a few years, the network that brings entrepreneurs and farmers together has grown. Not only in Emilia-Romagna, where today more than a hundred members belong to the association, but also in other regions. Thus the short supply chain project was born’Network Paulownia Italy‘: Farmed by farmers from growing the crops to selling the wood. ‘Paulownia Italia’ was born in instead Friuli Venezia Giulia, cultivates and can propagate and commercialize various clones in vitro and also provides consulting services. It is precisely on the Paulownia Italia website that it is explained why this plant has not had development in Italy in line with its potential. In the meantime, it has taken years to find out which hybrids are best suited to different climates and soils. And then there is the question of the rooms. So far, farmers have almost always opted for a sixth plant (4 × 4 meters, with about 600 plants per hectare), which is actually better suited for biomass production than wood. “In the vast majority of the orchards planted with this sixth – explains ‘Paulownia Italia’ – regardless of the type of hybrid, even in cases where the plants have shown significant growth rates in the first 3 or 4 years, growth has slowed down the growth slowed to almost the level of other woody plants”. Therefore, the trunk diameter required for the trees to be of commercial value to the companies that process the wood is not achieved.
What to look out for – The benefits of paulownia vary, but there is also some risk. As with any plantation, when it comes to carbon credits in Europe, history teaches the need for transparency about how polluters are effectively offsetting emissions and why there is a need to assess the impacts (including on biodiversity) of hunting for wood and biomass to rate. . In 2018, the WWF Chieti-Pescara reported the transformation of vineyards and uncultivated fields into various agricultural land where “however oaks, elms and other plants of the Mediterranean flora were present”. Fear, in short, is one thing excessive processing of cropsa bit like what happened to oil palms Indonesia and the abandonment of traditional landscapes to trade in timber and biomass. “There is a risk of speculation – he explains to ilfattoquotidiano.it Silvia Piconcelli, in the sustainable development area of Confagricoltura – a bit like there for bamboo, although in this case rapid growth helps. It is important to follow the cascade principle when using the different parts: the most valuable for the wood, branches and twigs for the pellets”. Cheap? “With caution. It can be a source of income for a farm, but since it’s a native species, he adds, it’s about change habitatseven if they are monospecific crops “. To date, due to its autochthonous nature, it is excluded from the rural development programs of the regions and from support under the European agricultural policy. For the supporters of paulownia it is an obstacle, but “it is also a filter to avoid limitless spread”. Among others, Silvia Piconcelli states: “The plantations that I saw are mainly monospecific, while in reality the advantages of paulownia include the fact that it is a tree , which is easy to grow in exchange with other cultures“.
Photo: hobby garden Navigli in Milan