Post-agricultural land as a sustainable source of high-quality silver birch wood: opportunity for a destabilized timber market

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Introduction Over the last few decades, many drivers – natural, economic, geopolitical and policy-related – have destabilized the timber market in Europe, and suitable substitutes for high-quality hardwood are needed. Afforestation of agricultural land offers multiple benefits, including climate change mitigation, and the forest area in Europe has been growing for several decades; however, the wood properties of stands established on such sites remain insufficiently known. Methods The wood quality of silver birch ( Betula pendula Roth) was evaluated in north-western Poland by comparing the wood density and mechanical parameters of birch stands growing on afforested post-agricultural land (FA) with those of stands growing on standard forest soil (FL). In total, 850 birch wood samples, derived from twelve radial boards, underwent classification and testing, complemented by measurements of annual ring width and of anatomical traits (vessel diameter and length, fibre length). Results Wood density, the most important parameter, reached 0.669 g/cm 3 on former agricultural land and 0.643 g/cm 3 on forest land, with no statistically significant difference. Both mechanical parameters, MOR (FA 141 MPa, FL 127 MPa) and MOE (FA 11.27 GPa, FL 10.10 GPa), were significantly higher on former agricultural land, whereas vessel diameter and vessel length were significantly greater on forest land. Discussion All evaluated wood-quality parameters performed at least as well on afforested farmland as on forest land. Our results therefore demonstrate the high suitability of silver birch for the afforestation of abandoned agricultural land, especially given its high growth potential as a pioneer species.

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