Biomass is produced as a feedstock for energy generation and industrial processes from short-rotation woody crop plantations in Europe, the USA, and Canada. This study determined the impact of soil enrichment on the survival rate, productivity, energy value, and yield of three species of crops grown on poor soil in a 4-year harvest rotation based on two factors: species (willow, poplar, and black locust) and fertilization (lignin, mineral fertilization, mycorrhiza inoculation, and their combination). The highest average yield was obtained from willow, followed by poplar and black locust. The highest yield in the entire experiment was for poplar with lignin combined with mineral fertilization (10.5 odt ha−1 year−1). Using lignin combined with mineral fertilizers increased the yield by 8–14 % compared to mineral fertilizers alone for willow and poplar and nearly doubled the black locust yield. The energy value of the yield ranged from 28.6 to 176.7 GJ ha−1 year−1, respectively, for black locust grown on the control plot and for poplar grown with mineral fertilization combined with lignin.