Can short rotation coppice willow provide a practical, economically and environmentally sustainable solution for balancing the objectives of the water-energy-production nexus in agriculture?

he farming and Agri-food sector is enormously important to the local Northern Irish economy and aims to be developed further to increase production, exports and local employment. However, these growth targets must be met while protecting the environment from the side-effects of intensified livestock agriculture such as increased quantities of slurry and dirty water, which could result in increased pressure on the land base in terms of nutrient (Nitrogen & Phosphorus) loading and recycling. Furthermore, the Water Framework Directive is placing increasing pressure on the farming and agri-food sector with the management of pollution being further emphasised. There is therefore a growing urgency to put in place sustainable approaches to environmental protection and wastewater management, and in doing so prevent water quality degradation as a result of both point and diffuse sources of pollution. Preliminary results from an experimental diffuse pollution management platform, where Short Rotation Coppice Willow is being assessed for water quality protection from drainage and overland runoff, indicate increasing differences in average P export between grass and willow plot.