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Inside This Issue

• Chairman's Report
• Executive Secretary's Report
• Technical Director's Report
• International Poplar Commission Meeting in Rome
• Hybrid Poplar in Southern Quebec and Eastern Ontario

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CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

John Doornbos

As I complete my second year as chairman of the Poplar Council, I can say that we have had another busy year. While my effort has been limited, our Technical Director and Executive Secretary have both been very active as they will describe in their reports.

This past year I tried to improve communication with the directors and committee members. Our conference call in April was a late but good start. I had hoped to do more of these, but time seems to be in short supply. I hope next year will be better. A significant outcome of the conference call was the renewal of Jim's contract as Technical Director.

I was offered and accepted a new position in Edmonton with CFS which required relocation from Prince Albert. While the move occurred in August, the process seems to have been going on for much longer. My new position will continue to allow me serve the Poplar Council.

An associated issue for discussion at our Annual Meeting was the relocation of the Council office. I proposed to the members that the office be moved back to Edmonton from Prince Albert, where it had been for the past two years. My biggest regret in proposing this move was losing the valuable services of Carol, our Executive Secretary. However, having worked long distance with our previous Executive Secretary for one year, we both agreed it was not an effective method of operation. The move will take place in the spring.

In addition to serving as President, myself, along with Carol, have done much of the Secretary- Treasurers work. This has not been onerous but it does take some time and it is also more appropriate that some other than Carol and myself be involved with the finances of the organization. Dave Cheyne has volunteered to serve as our Secretary-Treasurer.

Copies of the Auditors Report for 1996/97 are in this Newsletter along with financial information for 1998. The 1996/97 Report indicates that we were successful in generating more income than expenses even with the hiring of our Technical Director. A good part of our income continues to come from the project work we carry out. In 1998, our expenses exceed our income by a small amount. The 1999 budget shows a significant deficit but does not include any project income. With project income, we may still experience a deficit in 1999. This was anticipated with the hiring of a Technical Director. As a result of our project revenues, we have so far been able to delay the impact.

We have a number of activities that we are and will continue to work on. We have been revamping our website and have moved it to a new server. We also have our own domain name (our website address is: www.poplar.ca). This will allow us to raise the profile of the website for our members and others that wish to find us, create a members only section and improve our ability to update information.

Jim will continue to work on the member survey/directory this year. When complete, it will be incorporated into the website. Our ongoing discussions with the Western Boreal Aspen Coop may take us towards some sort of joint project or collaboration. There may also be opportunities that arise for the Council as a result of the Canadian Biotech Strategy and the theme of our Annual Meeting.

In closing, I would again like to thank Carol and Jim for their hard work and dedication over the past year (it is through their efforts that we accomplish what we do) and thanks to CFS for their support. I would also like to thank Ariane Plourde of CFS-Laurentian Forestry Center and her organizing committee for their hard work on an excellent meeting and tour.

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 EXECUTIVE SECRETARY'S REPORT

Carol Mardell

This has been a very busy year for us. We have been involved with two contracts besides the everyday Poplar Council work: The Aboriginal Entrepreneurship In Forestry Conference in January, 1998 and the Canadian Poplar Biotechnology Cooperative Industry Survey. Through the survey we have received membership renewals from most of those surveyed. We also received two new corporate and two new individual memberships.

A letter encouraging upgrading individual to corporate membership was mailed to existing members. One additional corporate was received. This year we tried a new format for the invoice by personalizing as well. We received numerous corporate renewals with a faster response time. We also sent renewal reminders to previous members and received sixteen individual and three corporate renewals. In addition to this, we have gained three corporate and ten individual memberships. One student membership has become an individual membership. Twelve people have taken advantage of the special price for a three-year individual membership. So, for 1998, we have six new corporate members and twelve new individual members. At this time we have 138 members with 22 corporate, 68 affiliates and 47 individual and 1 student.

We had a conference call on April 2, 1998 with twelve participants from the board and committee members. We used a different method this time. Each caller had a number to call and entered a passcode when it was convenient for them to join. This way, we saved money because each caller paid for their own long distance charges.

We have produced two newsletters in the last year. The March issue covered the 1997 Annual Meeting and the July issue was a biotechnology primer.

We are receiving various e-mail inquiries, from within Canada and internationally as well. We have had requests from Wales and Finland.

My work with Poplar Council has been very enjoyable. John and Jim have both been very supportive and able to assist with any inquiries or items that needed to be discussed. It has been great working with you!

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TECHNICAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT

Jim Richardson

Background

This is the second annual report to the Poplar Council membership from the Technical Director, a position that was created by the Executive Committee in April1997. The general objectives of the technical director are to supply technical services and advice to the Council, to promote awareness and support for the Council and to increase membership. The intention is to undertake a variety of specific tasks, as follows:

Recognizing the limited budget of the Council, these services are provided for a minimal level of compensation. As technical director, I worked for most of the past year out of an office kindly provided by my former employer, the Science Branch of the Canadian Forest Service (CFS) in Ottawa, which also generously provided support services of computer, phone and fax. However, due to CFS space requirements, this arrangement came to an end in June 1998 and I now work out of my home office, whose co-ordinates are given at the end of this report. I devote on average two days a week to Poplar Council business, but the actual time commitment varies greatly depending on the tasks at hand.

Progress

The past year has seen some important progress made by the Council, in relation to membership, services to and contact with members, particularly corporate members, and in relation to future directions we might take. The single, most important activity for the technical director was his participation in developments related to the possibility of establishing a Canadian poplar biotechnology co-operative or partnership. This topic was presented and discussed at the annual meeting last year. The intention was - and still is - to co-ordinate research across the country in breeding and advanced genetics of poplar and aspen, to help promote the use of poplar materials produced by biotechnology and to bring together the needs of industry with the scientific abilities of university, government and industry researchers.

As a next step in the development process, soon after the 1997 annual meeting, CFS awarded a contract to the Council to conduct a cross-country survey of Canadian poplar-using industries in order to determine more precisely the degree of interest industry might have in a Canadian co-operative. The survey was carried out by the technical director through a total of 22 personal visits made during the period November 1997 to January 1998. During that period and the subsequent reporting phase, I worked almost full time on this project.

In summary, the survey revealed a very strong positive interest on the part of Canadian poplar-using industries in the possibility of a Canadian poplar biotechnology co-operative. Most companies recognized the potential role of the Council in developing and co-ordinating the co-operative. A detailed report on the survey was prepared and delivered to CFS and to the cross-sectoral members of a steering committee, which was established in relation to the survey. Copies were also distributed to all participants in the survey. The report is available on this website. To view it, click here. A confidential report providing full details of all responses made during individual visits was also prepared for the steering committee, but is not available for wider circulation.

The companies visited during the survey were all either Poplar Council corporate members, past members or potential members. The survey therefore provided an unusual opportunity to achieve a number of the other, membership-related objectives of the technical director. During each survey visit, a detailed questionnaire was completed. This provided information about the nature and scale of the company's operation, as well as confirming and updating contact information. It also explored the company's interests and expertise in poplar and aspen and the services it receives from the Council or would like the Council to provide. The result is a valuable set of company profiles, and a good understanding of the needs of industry that could be served by the Council. This is a major step forward towards the realization of a Poplar Council membership directory.

In most cases, the technical director's visit was the first direct face-to-face contact between the Council and a corporate member on the member's home territory. This has had numerous benefits on both sides. Members were made better aware of the services and publications of the Council, including the Aspen Management Information System. Immediately, or through follow-up, information or services were provided. Lapsed members were encouraged to bring their membership up to date, and a number have done so. Several new memberships resulted from the visits. Somewhat less specifically, the visits provided the technical director (and the Council) with current information on the issues of concern to Canadian poplar-using companies, at least on the supply side. It was an invaluable opportunity to check the pulse of the industry.

Although the survey took much of the time and energy of the technical director in the past year, it should be clear that it served many purposes for the Council. Apart from anything else, it benefited the Council financially, both directly, from the survey contract itself, and also indirectly, through the enhanced receipt of membership fees.

The Poplar Council did not have a presence at any trade shows in the past year. Following the experience of recent years, the Executive reached a decision that the benefits of our involvement in such events did not justify the expense of booth rental and the technical director's travel costs to participate. However, this does not preclude the possibility of future Council participation at selected events.

The technical director, as an elected member of the Executive Committee of the International Poplar Commission (IPC), has maintained international contacts in the poplar world. As a result of recent discussions with FAO (the parent body of the IPC) and the United States, the next full session of the IPC , will take place in the Pacific Northwest in 2000, jointly hosted by the US and Canada. Technical sessions will be held in Portland, Oregon and field study tours, an important part of IPC Sessions, will visit British Columbia and Alberta.

In other activities, the Aspen Management Information System, developed by CFS, has been promoted wherever possible. The French version, prepared by CFS in Quebec, is being launched at this annual meeting. Responding to technical enquiries is an on-going activity, which commonly provides opportunities to promote Council membership.

Future

The completion of the membership survey, including follow-up and analysis, as well as the subsequent development of the membership directory, will be a primary focus for the technical director in the fall of 1998 and winter. Although somewhat dependent on funding opportunities and other developments, the further promotion and co-ordination of a Canadian poplar biotechnology co-operative or partnership could also be a major activity. There will also be activities relating to the organization of the year 2000 Session of the International Poplar Commission, principally securing funding and co-ordinating planning efforts for that event.

My experience as technical director continues to be very positive. The opportunities to be in contact with many people regarding poplars and PCC are exciting and beneficial. The solid support of the Council's Executive, particularly the chair John Doornbos, is much appreciated. Our efficient and effective Executive Secretary, Carol Mardell, and I, through weekly phone calls and E-mail exchanges, try to keep the affairs of the Poplar Council moving forward. It has been a pleasure working with Carol this past year. 

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INTERNATIONAL POPLAR COMMISSION MEETING IN ROME

Jim Richardson, Technical Director, Poplar Council of Canada

John Balatinecz, Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto 

The 39^th meeting of the Executive Committee of the International Poplar Commission (IPC) was held September 16-17, 1998 at the headquarters in Rome of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. Participating in this meeting from Canada were Jim Richardson and John Balatinecz, both active members in the Poplar Council of Canada.

IPC is a statutory body of FAO with a 51-year history of promotion and coordination of the breeding, cultivation, management and utilization of poplars and willows. There are presently 36 member countries of IPC and this number continues to increase. Canada was an early signatory of the Convention establishing the IPC. Members of IPC are 'national poplar commissions' of signatory countries. In the case of Canada, the Poplar Council of Canada (PCC) serves that role. Although in many countries, national poplar commissions are formal, high-level bodies that rarely meet or may even be dormant, PCC by contrast is an active, grass-roots organization carrying out parallel functions to IPC but at the national level. The Poplar Council of the United States is a similarly active grassroots type of organization.

The principal activities of the IPC include:

This work is carried out largely by the five Working Parties of the Commission (Breeding, Insects, Diseases, Production Systems, Logging and Utilization) and its Subcommittee on Nomenclature and Registration. FAO supports IPC through a modest budget and the part-time help of one of the officers of its Forest Resources Division, Mr. Jim Ball, who acts as Executive Secretary for IPC.

The Executive Committee provides overall direction to IPC. The present Committee has 14 members who were elected by the Commission on the basis of their abilities rather than on the basis of regional representation (or co-opted by the other members of the committee). Chairs of the Working Parties and the Subcommittee on Nomenclature and Registration also participate in meetings of the Executive Committee. Three Canadians are currently part of the Committee: Jim Richardson (elected member), John Balatinecz (chair of Working Party on Logging and Utilization) and Louis Zsuffa (chair of Working Party on Production Systems).

The two-day meeting began with an informal half-day discussion of major issues concerning IPC and continued on the second day with the more formal meeting itself. The future functioning and direction of the Commission were discussed at some length. The very limited budget FAO provides for support of IPC has long been a concern. While it is unlikely to be increased, innovative means of financing IPC activities are being pursued, including the possibility of seeking support, when appropriate, from industrial partners.

IPC is moving to embrace modern communication technologies. The Commission already has a presence on the FAO Internet website. You can visit this site at http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/FORESTRY/IPC/IPChom-e.htm The information available there will be considerably enhanced and most IPC publications and papers will be made available on the web. Within the Executive Committee, communication is increasingly by means of E-mail, though it is recognized that computers and the Internet are much less available in developing countries, a number of which are IPC members. The Commission endeavours particularly to provide support on poplar-related matters to developing countries.

Terms of reference for the Working Parties are to be reviewed in preparation for the next full Session of the IPC in 2000. There is a particular desire to provide adequate coverage of currently important issues which are not presently explicitly dealt with by Working Parties. These topics include conservation of poplar and willow genetic resources on which the chair of IPC, Vic Steenackers of Belgium, is preparing an important information document. Use of poplar and willow plantations for bioremediation, as well as for sequestration of carbon, are also important issues. Environmental considerations in general have been poorly covered by IPC in the past, and this situation is to be rectified.

Since much of the work of IPC is focussed around the full Session of the Commission held every four years, the Executive Committee spent a significant part of its time discussing plans for the next (21^st) Session which will take place in 2000. The Committee unanimously endorsed a proposal that this Session be hosted jointly by the US and Canada. The proposal, put forward by Committee members Jud Isebrands of the US Forest Service and Jim Richardson, and subsequently formally approved by the Director-General of FAO, was that the event would be held in the Pacific Northwest, with technical sessions to take place in Portland, Oregon, and field study tours in Oregon, Washington, southwestern British Columbia and Alberta. Canada has hosted two previous IPC Sessions (in Toronto in 1968 and Ottawa in 1984); the US has never hosted a Session and so it seemed appropriate that the major part of the up-coming jointly-hosted event should take place in that country.

The Executive Committee discussed at length possible general themes for the 21st Session. It was eventually decided that the Session would focus on 'Poplar and willow culture: meeting the needs of society and the environment'. Individual Working Parties will also develop their own more specific themes for the Session. However, in a significant and positive step forward for the IPC, a Scientific Committee will be established to provide scientific direction and coordination to the technical content of the meeting and its proceedings. Past Sessions have suffered from lack of a unified approach to the technical program which has often consisted of little more than a series of independent, concurrent Working Party meetings, with the addition of a day or two of formal plenary meetings with a great deal of rigid formality. The Scientific Committee will liaise with the local organizing committee for the Session, which will be co-chaired by Jud Isebrands and Jim Richardson.

The 21^st Session will provide an important opportunity for Canada to showcase, to an international audience of poplar and willow scientists, its major advances in industrial use of our natural aspen resource, as well as the progress in poplar biotechnology. The Session could provide a significant boost to a Canadian poplar biotechnology cooperative, which might by then have moved beyond being merely an idea. The PCC will coordinate Canadian involvement in the planning of the Session. It is hoped that the Canadian Forest Service, the Canadian poplar-using industry and other organizations will also participate actively.

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HYBRID POPLAR IN SOUTHERN QUEBEC AND EASTERN ONTARIO

Jim Richardson, Technical Director, Poplar Council of Canada

The theme of the 1998 annual meeting was 'Getting Ready for the 3^rd Millennium.' This theme was illustrated in two-and-a-half days of field visits in southern Quebec and eastern Ontario. The visits focussed on the experimental poplar breeding trials of the Ministère des Ressources naturelles du Québec (MRNQ) and the industrial hybrid poplar plantations of Domtar in the Windsor area of Quebec and the Cornwall area of Ontario. In its general thrust this work shows how government and industry are preparing now to meet the fibre needs of the future.

The Tree Improvement Service of MRNQ has been active in poplar breeding work since 1969 and in that time has made great progress in selecting and developing hybrid poplar clones suitable particularly for the regions of Southern Quebec, the Lower St. Lawrence and Gaspesia. More recently, the work has been extended to the Saguenay-Lac St. John Region as demonstrated during the 1995 annual meeting of the Council in Chicoutimi. The field sites visited in 1998 included clonal trials and early selection plantations of hybrid poplar and cottonwood in the area of Saint-Ours close to the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, and in the somewhat more severe climate and soil conditions at Saint-Cloud near Windsor.

The oldest plantation seen at Saint-Ours had been planted in 1980 and 1981 at 6 m x 7 m spacing within a plantation of mixed conifers established in the two previous years. Unrooted cuttings 2 m in length had been planted without site preparation. After 15 years of growth on what is considered one of the best sites in Quebec for poplar, the average height of the 30 best clones was 18 m and the average breast-height diameter was 25 cm. At that time, the three best clones in the border rows - Unal, Beaupré and Boelare, all Populus trichocarpa x deltoides hybrids - were 22-24 m tall and 35-43 cm in diameter. (However, Beaupré is no longer recommended for planting in this region because of sunscald problems.)

Plantation establishment techniques have changed since 1980, and intensive site preparation involving ploughing and discing is now standard, with planting distances much closer than formerly. Poplars are planted as rooted cuttings (or stecklings) of a minimum 30 cm length which are root-pruned in the fall before winter storage and spring bare-root planting. Black plastic mulch is used in the planting rows to help reduce weed competition. Deer browsing is a serious problem for planted poplars in southern Quebec and fencing is considered essential; electric fencing is sometimes used.

The more recent clonal trials visited were established between 1991 and 1994. The tests included hybrids involving P. trichocarpa, P. nigra, P. maximowiczii and P. deltoides. Clones with P. maximowiczii are particularly promising. Septoria canker is a major concern and much of the clonal selection work is aimed at finding Septoria-resistant hybrids and clones. Another problem is sunscald, which can affect up to 65 percent of trees in some clones. Unseasonal cambial activity on sunny winter days when the soil is frozen and snow-covered causes vertical cracks in tree stems just above the snow surface. It is not clear whether the incidence of sunscald is related entirely to climate and site conditions or if clonal differences, which do exist, are also important. Pruning at an early age may also predispose poplars to sunscald. In the Windsor area, the ice storm of January 1998 caused breaking and bending damage to about 30 percent of trees in poplar trials.

The two business centres of Domtar which were visited have rather different histories in respect to both mill operations and experience in growing hybrid poplars. The Windsor mill began full operations in 1989 and uses 800,000 tonnes of wood/year - all hardwood. It produces a variety of fine papers (offset, copy paper, forms bond and wove) as well as pulp. There are more than 1100 employees. Environmental considerations, including effluent treatment, air emissions and solid wastes, receive high priority.

Domtar's hybrid poplar project at Windsor started only in 1997, with the establishment of a clonal garden. Due to a major problem with white-tailed deer, the 9200 plants had to be moved to a 9 ha site at Ste-Catherine-de-Hatley in an area protected by an electric fence. A total of 40 ha were planted in 1998, with about 40,000 plants and cuttings. Trials established include a spacing test, a clonal test, a comparison of rooted and unrooted cuttings, tests of mill biosolids as fertilizer and wood yard residues as mulch, and site preparation tests.

Site preparation normally consists of fall ploughing followed by spring harrowing before planting. Spreading of biosolids caused only minimal soil compaction due to the equipment used for the spreading. A combination of biosolids and wood yard residue was used with the objective of controlling weeds while stimulating tree growth. Unfortunately, the wood yard residue did not control weeds and the biosolids stimulated growth of both poplars and weeds. The application will be re-evaluated.

A range of different poplar clones and hybrids have been established, including P. trichocarpa x deltoides, deltoides x nigra, nigra x maximowiczii, euramericana x maximowiczii, and maximowiczii x balsamifera. The most commonly used planting spacings are 3 m x 3 m and 3 m x 2 m. It is too early to evaluate the growth performance of the poplars.

By contrast, the Cornwall Business Centre of Domtar has a much longer history, both as a mill and in its experience with poplar plantations. The mill was built in 1881 and presently has a production capacity of 220,000 tons per year of a wide variety of fine papers. The fibre supply consists of 211,000 oven dry tonnes per year - all hardwood - of which 12 percent is poplar. Domtar Cornwall owns 1,600 ha of freehold forested lands in Ontario (of which 400 ha have been harvested) and 42,000 ha in New York State. An additional 2000 ha, of which 1,200 ha are planted to hybrid poplar, are managed by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources under a Forestry Act Agreement. Through a private land forestry program, Domtar has established more than 1000 ha of hybrid poplar on private lands and manages an additional 2,200 ha of privately owned woodlots. Domtar Cornwall has been involved in growing hybrid poplar since 1974.

Typical site preparation of what is commonly marginal agricultural land involves mechanical treatments such as brushcutting, ploughing, disking, cultivating and rolling, as well as chemical treatments - glyphosate and Simazine herbicides and sometimes fertilization. Herbicide treatment to control weeds is used in the first two years after planting.

A number of clone site trials have been established. Many of the best clones are P. deltoides x nigra crosses, but one of the most superior clones, used as an ad hoc control is NM6 (P. nigra x maximowiczii) which has clearly superior height and diameter in many trials. Unfortunately, NM6 suffered considerable damage in the ice storm of January 1998. Typically, all its side branches were stripped off by the ice. The ice storm damage was worse in the Cornwall area than in the Windsor area. Clonal differences are evident in the degree and type of damage and an assessment of the damage is planned as part of an undergraduate thesis project. Septoria canker is a problem in some clones and on some sites. Some heavily cankered plantations have been thinned or completely removed and replaced with other species such as white pine. Sunscald occurs occasionally, but is generally less evident in the Cornwall area than in southern Quebec plantations.

Already a number of the Cornwall poplar plantations have been harvested. Intermediate harvesting treatments are also under consideration, whereby alternate rows would be removed for pulpwood at 8-9 years and the rotation for the remaining stand extended to 15 years. After harvesting the poplar, conifers are sometimes planted, or natural hardwood regeneration, often of ash, is allowed to replace the poplar.

Sincere appreciation is expressed to the staff of MRNQ Service d'amélioration d'arbres, and of Domtar's Windsor and Cornwall Business Centres for their efforts in organizing and hosting a very interesting and informative series of field visits. Particular thanks are due to Pierre Périnet, Gilles Vallée, Serge Morin, Émile Audy, Régis Saint-Amand, Wayne Young and Adam Zulinski.

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Last edit: 2004-10-27