A Model for Estimating Pruned Biomass Obtained from Corylus avellana L

In this work the amount of biomass available by the hazelnuts pruning in the province of Viterbo was investigated. At present, the pruning’s residues are destroyed by farmers directly in the field, at the end of the pruning; in this way a large quantity of biomass, represented by hazelnut’s prunings, is lost; the residues obtained from the hazelnut’s pruning, are an important source of biomass that could be used for thermal energy production. The aim of this work is to realize a map with the estimated energy potential from hazelnut pruning biomass, in the province of Viterbo. In the first phase the amount of biomass obtained from a hectare of hazelnut’s cultivation was estimated: sampling were carried out in some municipalities of Viterbo while hazelnut pruning was taking place, from January to March.