Poplars and Willows

Poplars and willows form an important component of forestry and agricultural systems, providing a wide range of wood and non-wood products. This book synthesizes research on poplars and willows, providing a practical worldwide overview and guide to their basic characteristics, cultivation and use, issues, problems and trends. Prominence is given to environmental benefits and the importance of poplar and willow cultivation in meeting the needs of people and communities, sustainable livelihoods, land use and development.

J. G. Isebrands is native of Iowa and is the President and founder of Environmental Forestry Consultants, LLC in New London, Wisconsin. The company specializes in phytoremediation and short rotation forestry projects with poplars and willows. He has over 40 years experience with research and applications with poplars and willows, first with the USDA Forest Service Research branch and cooperating universities, and now with the private sector. He has been involved with the Short Rotation Woody Crops Operations Working Group (SRWCOWG) since its inception, an active member of the Poplar Council of the United States as well as a member of the Poplar Council of Canada. He is currently on the Executive Committee of the International Poplar Commission of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, having served for 15 years and has over 200 publications on poplar- and willow-related disciplines.

Jim Richardson is a forestry consultant. A native of Scotland, he received his post-secondary education in forestry at Edinburgh University in Scotland and the University of New Brunswick in Canada. For most of his career he was with the Canadian Forest Service as a silviculture researcher and latterly as manager of a program of research and development on forest biomass production for energy until retirement from the federal public service in 1997. Jim has been active with the Poplar Council of Canada since 1985 as Secretary, Chair and, since 1997, Technical Director. He has been a member of the Executive Committee of the International Poplar Commission (IPC) since 1992. He co-edited the book Poplar Culture in North America, published for the 21st Session of IPC which he helped organize in Portland, OR. Other significant involvements have included IEA Bioenergy and the Canadian Bioenergy Association (CanBio).