Biomass productivity and phytoremediation potential of Salix alba and Salix viminalis

The aim of this work was to determine selected Salix clones’ capacities for biomass production and accumulation of heavy metal ions. Determination of the relationship between sorption of metals and biomass productivity was a further purpose of this study. Eight Salix viminalis cultivars and one Salix alba cultivar were analyzed. The taxa characterized by greatest biomass production were S. alba var. Chermesina and S. viminalis ‘1056’ (respectively 6.8 and 4.3 kg of fresh mass per shrub per year).The results have revealed significant differences among clones. The clones most effective in accumulating all five metals were S. viminalis ‘1154’ and ‘1054’. The studied Salix population was significantly diverse as regards accumulation efficiency. The differences between the highest and lowest heavy metal content in extreme clones were for: Cd 84%, Cu 90%, Hg 167%, Pb 190% and Zn 36%. At the same time, significant differences were observed in Salix structure. The greatest cellulose content was observed in S. viminalis ‘Sprint’ (49.69%) and the lowest in S. viminalis ‘1059’ (42.09%).