A novel tractor-mounted mower-chipper for harvesting of short rotation coppice has been developed and tested in the field. The cutting length of the chipping module is adjustable in the range of 20-100 mm. Measurements during storage of the poplar chips in either a bunker silo or a covered pile (500 m(3) each), over a period of about eight months, include the pile or bunker temperature, the loss of dry matter, the change in moisture content, and the mould formation. The effect of particle size has been examined as well. It appeared that fine chips, having an average chip length of 25 mm, show slightly better results than the coarse chips (75 mm). During storage of the fine chips in a pile, the moisture content decreased from around 60 to 33 weight percent, while the loss of dry matter was approximately 24 weight percent. The differences with the results obtained for coarse chips were however marginal. As a matter of fact, the favorable storage conditions expected for the coarser chips could not be confirmed at practice scale, despite significant differences in the development of the pile temperature and mould contamination. (c) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.