Even though most of the biomass of the planet is in forests, we live in a world where wood as a raw material and its products are increasingly scarce. This is particularly so in important areas such as the European Community, which is far from self-sufficient in terms of wood. In recent years the need to intensify forest production and, in some cases, to uti lize abandoned agricultural land for forestry has focussed world-wide attention on the economic importance of fast-growing tree plantations. These are usually managed as short "rotations" (growing cycles) of less than 15 years, often for...

Even though most of the biomass of the planet is in forests, we live in a world where wood as a raw material and its products are increasingly scarce. This is particularly so in important areas such as the European Community, which is far from self-sufficient in terms of wood. In recent years the need to intensify forest production and, in some cases, to uti- lize abandoned agricultural land for forestry has focussed world-wide attention on the economic importance of fast-growing tree plantations. These are usually managed as short "rotations" (growing cycles) of less than 15 years, often for...