Effects Of Coppice Rotation On Growth Performance And Wicker Quality Of Salix Integra Thunb.

Salix integra Thunb. is widely cultivated along the Huang-Huai river region, and the coppice shoots are the main material for wicker production. With different cultivation managements, such as coppice rotation, the wicker yield and quality differed markedly. In this study, the S. integra plantations with different coppice rotations were selected to investigate the growth performance and the wicker quality, thus to provide references for optimizing the cultivation management of S. integra plantation. The main conclusions included that:(1) no significant difference existed for relative chlorophyll content, Fv/Fm and qP among different coppice rotations. But the Fv'/Fm'decreased from rotation 1 to rotation 6. The apparent electron transport rate (ETR) increased from rotation 1 to rotation 2, then decreased from rotation 2 to rotation 6.(2) significant difference existed for average shoot diameter, shoot height, biomass, and shoot number among different coppice rotations. These properties were low in rotation 1, then increase from rotation 2 to rotation 4, and decreased in rotation 6.(3) significant effect of coppice rotation was detected on leaf area index (LAI). The max LAI appeared in rotation 4. Then in rotation 6, the LAI decreased a little. LAI showed negative correlation with canopy openness.(4) wicker production increased with rotation increased and reached the max in rotation 4, and then decreased in rotation 6. In rotation 1, the plantation produced much thin wicker (< 5mm), while the percentages of thin, medium (5-10mm) or thick (>10mm) wicker did not differ significantly in rotation 2 to rotation 6.(5) no difference existed for stock shape coefficient but significant difference existed for uniformity degree among different roations. The highest and lowest uniformity were showed in rotation 1 and rotation 3, respectively. The properties of branches also differed markedly among different rotations. The highest branching initiation ratio was showed in the plantation of rotation 1, while, on the contrary, the lowest was in rotation 6. Moreover, the sprouting position of branches was lowest in rotation 1 and highest in rotation 6.(6) the lower MOE indicates the higher toughness of wickers. In our study, the MOE of the wickers with same diameter was lowest in rotation 4 among different rotations. In addition, the MOE had positive correlation with wood basic density.