Suitability of eucalypt species and hybrids for hardwood wood chip plantations in marginal subtropical environments in Queensland, Australia.
by
Valerie J. Debuse
Queensland Forestry Research Institute
Coauthors: David J. Lee, Peter C. Pomroy (Queensland Forestry Research Institute)

Assessing site suitability for a range of eucalypt species is an integral part of viable hardwood plantation development in subtropical and tropical Australia. Genotype/site matching is particularly important where there is high site variation across potential planting areas and limited or unknown adaptability of species and hybrids to site. In response to increasing interest from commercial forestry companies, this preliminary study aimed to identify taxa suitable for commercial wood chip plantation development. Thirty-month volume growth of 47 hardwood taxa was compared across nine sites that were located on ex-agricultural land within 200 km of Brisbane. The method of Williams and Matheson (1994) was used to determine the sensitivity of each taxon to variation in site quality. A modified joint regression analysis was performed on 31 of the 47 taxa planted across the nine trials to test taxa sensitivity to site. Although mean annual volume increment varied significantly among sites for all taxa combined, sensitivity to site quality did not vary significantly among taxa at this early growth stage.

Date received: August 29, 2002

Copyright © 2002 by the author(s). The author(s) of this document and the organizers of the conference have granted their consent to include this abstract in Atlas Conferences Inc. Document # cajn-18.