Home / POPCAN: Genetic Improvement of Poplar Trees as a Canadian Bioenergy Feedstock
POPCAN: Genetic Improvement of Poplar Trees as a Canadian Bioenergy Feedstock
Generating solutions
Status
Competition
Genome Centre(s)
GE3LS
Project Leader(s)
- Carl Douglas,
- University of British Columbia
- Shawn Mansfield,
- University of British Columbia
Fiscal Year Project Launched
Project Description
Clean energy from the poplar tree. While the Government of Canada has recently mandated a five percent renewable fuel content in gasoline, current production, which is almost exclusively derived from agricultural residues, is insufficient to produce the requisite volume. It will, therefore, be necessary to develop new feedstocks for biofuel production, the majority of which is expected to come from woody plants and trees. With funding from Genome Canada, scientists are studying the genetic underpinnings of tree growth as well as the traits associated with biofuel suitability in two species of poplar. Their overall aim is to develop shortrotation, fastgrowing trees that can grow in a variety of climates across Canada with wood that can be more readily converted to biofuel while minimizing the ecological footprint. A social research component is working with scientists to examine the social and economic issues associated with establishing breeding programs for fast-rotation poplar plantations.