Hybrid poplar and oak along drainage ditches - Enhancing the financial and environmental value of farmland

Why plant poplars?

The Padana Plain in Italy is characterised by intensive agriculture. Cereals are the most common crop, and hybrid poplar (Populus x euroamericana) is the most common cultivated tree species for timber production. Intercropping poplar trees with arable crops is now recognized as a modern form of Smart Agriculture, due to the efficient use of site resources (light, nutrients and water) by canopies and root distribution.