Objective - To study the possibility to solve an increasing wood ash waste problem by recycling it as a useful product for improvement of the sustainability of forests. - To contribute to the scientific and practical basis required for the refinement of EU policy on recycling of wood ash in sustainable forestry.The consumption of fuel chips and other wood residues for energy production has increased dramatically during recent years in many places of the world. This increase is expected to continue during the coming years. Wood ash contains high concentrations of calcium and potassium, and relatively high concentrations of phosphorus, and it might therefore be used as a useful complementary fertilizer in forests to restore the nutrient elements removed by felling and to counteract soil acidification. However, the content of heavy metals in wood ash might constitute an ecotoxicological problem to the food chains and sustainability of forest ecosystems. The idea of the WOOD-ASH project is to perform field experiments with application of wood ash from chip fuelled heating plants as a fertilizer to forest ecosystems under different soil and environmental conditions and different tree species. The study is a joint effort between two EU partners, Danish Forest and Landscape Research Institute, Denmark and Goettingen University, Germany. The main emphasis of the research will be placed on application of wood ash in Norway spruce forests on acid soils, 3 sites in Denmark and 1 in Germany. Additionally, the Danish partner will contribute with investigations on pretreatment and application techniques for wood ash, and the German partner will contribute with studies in beech forest and the toxicity problems with heavy metals in the wood ash. Programme(s) ENV-LIFE 1 - Regulation (EEC) establishing a financial instrument for the environment (LIFE), 1992-1995 Topic(s) A13 - Development of techniques for the collection, storage, recycling and disposal of waste, particularly toxic and dangerous waste and waste water Call for proposal Data not available Funding Scheme DEM - Demonstration contracts Coordinator DANISH FOREST AND LANDSCAPE RESEARCH INSTITUTE EU contribution No data Address Hoersholm Kongevej 11 2970 HOERSHOLM Denmark See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data
