The Environmental Impact of Poplar Stand Management: A Life Cycle Assessment Study of Different Scenarios

The circular economy will play an important role in the reduction of carbon emissions and poplar might be one of the winning choices according to sustainable development. As for agricultural crops, high-quality production is strictly related to genetic variability and best management practice. The main objective of this study was to analyze different stand management options to quantify differences on carbon emission and environmental impacts. Moreover, the study was focused on the assessment of differences between standard poplar management for veneer and poplar management according to sustainable production (such as the PEFC certification scheme). The system boundaries embraced fertilization (inorganic or organic), agricultural operations, machinery, and field emissions associated with poplar cultivation. The environmental impacts were quantified by a life cycle assessment (LCA) calculation using SIMAPRO software v8.0 with different databases. The primary data of poplar stands were collected during a decades-long Italian experience. A reduction of carbon emissions was observed in the stand managed with MSA clones (Case “Mezzi PEFC”), and negative emissions were observed due to organic fertilization (scenarios 7m-29 t CO2-eq ha−1 and 26M-129 t CO2-eq ha−1). In all cultivation scenarios, the environmental impacts were lower than conventional crops in the study area, such as corn. A higher impact was observed in the 26M scenario with oversized machinery for stand management. These data can also contribute to poplar stand modeling and represent a basis for future research developments in this field.