Due to the continuously increasing utilisation of renewable energy sources, the need for biomass as an energy source is going to increase in Hungary in the future. It is important to produce feedstock for energetic purposes from woody biomass plantations in less valuable areas in addition to firewood. On the one hand, farmers’ financial stability could be enhanced through the diversification of their income sources and woody energy plantations have significant environmental protection effects, such as the protection of the soil or CO2 assimilation on the other. This study aims to quantify these environmental protection effects with the help of the GaBi4 life cycle assessment software and the Ecoinvent 2.2 life cycle inventory database. Calculations are based on the results of the short rotation coppice (SRC) willow energy plantation experiments conducted by the Szent István University. These experiments revealed that 40 t ha-1 biomass with a moisture content of 49.5% can be produced in the case of the 2-year-long harvest cycles by applying a 50 kg/ha/harvest cycle nitrogen dose during the 12-year-long lifespan of the plantation.

The environmental effects of the plantation were calculated from the production of the scion until the transport of the woodchips to the site of utilisation by using transportation distances of 50, 100 and 150 km. In order to assess environmental effects, global warming potential, the ratio of energy input and output and acidification potential were analysed. The quantitative results of these indicators were compared to the same indices of maize and wheat production.

In order to make it possible to compare different land use patterns, all results refer to 1 hectare. During the production of maize and wheat, 7101 kg CO2 and 4697 kg CO2 is absorbed per hectare every year, while in the case of the SRC willow energy plantation in 2 years harvest cycles, this value is 17093 kg CO2 ha-1 year-1. The acidification potential reaches 48.43 kg SO2 equivalent ha-1 in the case of maize production, it is 27.73 kg SO2 equivalent ha-1 during wheat production, while in the case of SRC willow energy plantations it is only 11 kg SO2 equivalent ha-1. According to the results, it can be stated that SRC willow energy plantations have more favourable environmental effects in the case of the analysed indices than the production of the two most important conventional arable crops (wheat and maize).

Keywords: energy willow, biomass, carbon-dioxide, life cycle analysis