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Soil and life

Biomass Plants

Terra Humana editorial teamLast updated: 2026-10-125 min read

Freshly cut branches of a support shrub laid as a mulch ring around a young fruit tree, the trunk kept free

In brief

Fast-growing plants grown above all for their cuttings: pruned again and again, they supply mulch and organic matter for the soil on the spot.

What are biomass plants?

Biomass plants are species grown above all for the mass of plant material they produce. They are not harvested for fruit or timber. Instead they are cut back again and again, and their branches and leaves are laid on the ground as mulch. In this way they produce, on the spot, the material that protects the soil and feeds soil life.

The idea is central to syntropic agriculture, developed by Ernst Götsch, and to many food forest designs. In these systems biomass plants are not an addition but the engine. They grow fast in the early years, when the fruit trees are still small, and provide shade, wind protection and, above all, a steady supply of organic matter. As the planting matures, they are thinned and gradually give way to the trees they prepared the ground for. Many of them are pioneer plants, and many are legumes that add nitrogen to the system at the same time.

A planting that grows,its own mulchLearning panel: a planting that grows its own mulch. Biomass plants are fast-growing plants grown mainly for their cuttings. With chop and drop one cut feeds the soil twice: from above, because branches and leaves stay where they fall around the fruit trees; and from below, because the cut plant sheds part of its roots, which adds organic matter in the soil itself, and legumes release nitrogen from their root nodules. The helpers step back over time: at the start they grow fast and provide shade, wind shelter and cuttings while the fruit trees are small; the more the trees need, the more cuttings they give; as the planting matures they are thinned and give way to the trees. Cutting happens in winter and early spring, while rainfall still exceeds evaporation and the cut material breaks down in moist soil. In summer every bit of shade stays. Vigorous species stay guided: they are thinned and replaced step by step as the target species take over. TERRAWIKI · LEARNING PANEL A planting that growsits own mulch Fast-growing plants grown mainly for their cuttings. 1CHOP AND DROP: ONE CUT FEEDS TWICE biomass plant fruit tree from abovebranches and leavesstay where they fall from belowthe plant sheds partof its roots; legumesrelease nitrogen 2HELPERS THAT STEP BACK Start the helpers growfast: shade, windshelter, cuttings Growth the more the treesneed, the morecuttings they give Maturity thinned, they giveway to the trees 3CUTTING HAPPENS IN WINTER Winter, early spring rainfall still exceedsevaporation and the cutmaterial breaks downin moist soil Summer every bit of shadestays Vigorous species stay guided: thinned and replacedstep by step as the target species take over. Basis: Ernst Götsch, Break-through in agriculture (1995) · TerraWiki: Biomass Plants

Chop and drop

The practice behind biomass plants is called chop and drop. A plant is cut back, and the material stays where it falls, around the trees it is meant to feed. It is not carried away, composted elsewhere or burned. This saves work and transport and keeps the nutrients on the site.

Pruning has a second effect below ground. A plant that loses a large part of its leaves can no longer supply its whole root system and sheds part of it. The dead roots add organic matter in the soil itself, and in legumes nitrogen is released from the root nodules. A single cut therefore feeds the soil from above and from below. Some biomass plants also act as dynamic accumulators, bringing nutrients from deeper layers into their leaves.

Which species, and how they stay guided

The ideal biomass plant grows fast, tolerates hard and repeated pruning, resprouts quickly, and copes with the local climate. For the Mediterranean, the literature and practice name, among others:

  • Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala), a legume tree from Central America that resprouts strongly after cutting; it is sensitive to frost.
  • Tagasaste (Cytisus proliferus), a legume shrub from the Canary Islands, drought-hardy and long used as fodder.
  • Giant reed (Arundo donax), long established around the Mediterranean, with very high biomass production.
  • Spanish broom (Spartium junceum) and tree medick (Medicago arborea), native Mediterranean legume shrubs.

None of these species is on the EU list of invasive alien species of Union concern. Some of them are nevertheless vigorous spreaders: leucaena seeds freely, giant reed spreads through its rhizomes. Terra Humana uses such species deliberately because of their strength, which can set a tired soil in motion, but always in a guided way: leucaena is cut before it sets much seed, giant reed is placed where its rhizomes cannot wander, and all are thinned and replaced step by step as the target species take over.

How Terra Humana understands biomass plants

For Terra Humana biomass plants answer a simple question: where does the mulch come from? Material brought in from outside costs transport, can carry seeds and residues, and makes the land dependent on supply. A planting that grows its own mulch is independent of all that. It also grows with its task: the more the young trees need, the more cuttings the support plants supply, until the trees drop enough leaves themselves and the helpers can step back.

The timing follows the climate. Cutting happens in winter and early spring, while rainfall still exceeds evaporation and the cut material breaks down in moist soil. In summer every bit of shade stays. In this way biomass plants, mulch and soil form a single cycle, and the soil is fed from the same place where it is protected. Prunings that are too woody for mulch can still be used, for instance as raw material for biochar.

Plants in this entry

  • LeucaenaLeucaena leucocephala
  • TagasasteChamaecytisus proliferus
  • BroomSpartium junceum

Frequently asked

What are biomass plants?

Biomass plants are species grown not mainly for a harvest but for the plant material they produce. They grow fast, tolerate hard pruning and resprout quickly. Their cuttings are laid on the ground as mulch, where they protect the soil and feed soil life. In syntropic agriculture and in many food forests they are the engine of the system: they produce the organic matter that the fruit trees will later need, right where it is needed, without anything being brought in.

What does chop and drop mean?

Chop and drop is the practice behind biomass plants. A plant is cut back, and the cut material is dropped where it falls, around the trees it is meant to feed. Nothing is carried away, composted elsewhere or burned. The branches and leaves become mulch, break down and return their nutrients to the soil. Hard pruning also changes the plant below ground: it sheds part of its roots, which adds organic matter in the soil itself, and in legumes releases nitrogen from the root nodules.

Which biomass plants suit a Mediterranean climate?

Species that cope with summer drought and resprout strongly after cutting. Often named are leucaena, a fast-growing legume tree from Central America, tagasaste, a drought-hardy legume shrub from the Canary Islands, and giant reed, which produces very large amounts of material. Native and long-established Mediterranean species such as Spanish broom and tree medick also serve. None of the species named here is on the EU list of invasive alien species of Union concern; vigorous ones are still planted only in a guided way.

When are biomass plants cut?

In a Mediterranean climate, in winter and early spring, while rainfall still exceeds evaporation. At that time the cut material breaks down in moist soil, the plants regrow quickly, and the opened canopy does no harm. In summer the rule is reversed: every bit of shade stays, because shade protects the soil better than any mulch layer, and a hard cut in the heat would expose both the soil and the trees it is meant to shelter.

An old olive grove on a slope in spring, the ground between the trees fully covered with grasses, clover and wildflowersNext in this themeCover CropA permanent or seasonal plant cover between trees or rows instead of open soil; it slows runoff and erosion and feeds soil life and beneficial insects.

Related terms

A lifted layer of straw and wood-chip mulch with moist dark soil underneath, next to a dry, cracked pathMulchA layer of organic or mineral material on the soil surface that cuts evaporation, keeps the ground cooler, stops erosion and feeds soil life.A flowering green manure of faba beans, vetch and oats between young fruit treesGreen ManurePlants grown on purpose to feed the soil: often a mix of legumes and grasses, cut at flowering and left on the ground as biomass and nitrogen.Dense planting rows with bananas, papaya and young trees, prunings as mulchSyntropic AgricultureA regenerative farming method that grows food by accelerating natural forest succession, developed by the Swiss farmer Ernst Götsch in Brazil.Large comfrey with purple flowers at the foot of a young fruit treeDynamic AccumulatorA deep-rooted plant that draws minerals up from the subsoil and returns them to the surface through its leaves, feeding neighbouring plants.Broom and rockrose colonising bare, stony groundPioneer PlantsSpecies that colonise bare or damaged land first, making it habitable for everything that follows through their shade, roots and nutrients.Hands holding porous pieces of biochar above dark soilBiocharA stable, charcoal-like material made by heating plant matter with little oxygen, mixed into soil to improve its structure, water-holding and living activity.

See this in practice

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Sources

  • Ernst Götsch, Break-through in agriculture, AS-PTA, Rio de Janeiro (1995)
  • Orwa et al., Agroforestree Database: a tree reference and selection guide, version 4.0, World Agroforestry Centre (2009)
  • Dave Jacke & Eric Toensmeier, Edible Forest Gardens, Volume 2: Ecological Design and Practice (2005)
  • Regulation (EU) 1143/2014 with Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1141, Union list of invasive alien species, consolidated version of 7 August 2025

Last updated: 2026-10-12