Productivity of Plantation Hardwood Tree Species in North-Eastern Australia: a Report from the Forest Adaptation and Sequestration Alliance
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Productivity of plantation hardwood tree species in north-eastern Australia: A report from the Forest Adaptation and Sequestration Alliance A report prepared for The Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry May 2011 Productivity of plantation forest tree species in north-eastern Australia: A report from the Forest Adaptation and Sequestration Alliance1 By David J. LeeA,B, Jeremy T. BrawnerC, Tim E. SmithB, Bruce W. B C B Hogg , Roger Meder and David O. Osborne A Faculty of Science Health and Education, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, Qld 4558 B Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, Locked Bag 16, Fraser Road, Gympie, Qld 4570 C CSIRO—Plant Industry, 306 Carmody Road, St. Lucia, Qld 4067, Keywords Subtropics, Tropics, Eucalyptus, Corymbia, plantation forests, carbon sequestration, stem borer, Queensland, New South Wales, agroforestry. Disclaimer The University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) and its partners advise that the information contained in this publication comprises general statements based on scientific research. The reader is advised and needs to be aware that such information may be incomplete or unable to be used in any specific situation. No reliance or actions must therefore be made on that information without seeking prior expert professional, scientific and technical advice. To the extent permitted by law, USC (including its employees, research partners and consultants) excludes all liability to any person for any consequences, including but not limited to all losses, damages, costs, expenses and any other compensation, arising directly or indirectly from using this publication (in part or in whole) and any information or material contained in it. Front cover: Nine year old Corymbia citriodora subsp. variegata trees near Miriam Vale (Wide Bay Burnett – coastal zone). This project is supported by funding from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry under its Forest Industries Climate Change Research Fund program 1 The Alliance comprises scientists from the three organisations listed above who have been working together over the last five years to develop tropical and subtropical hardwood species for production forestry applications in Northern Australia. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................ iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................... v ABBREVIATIONS AND TERMS USED .................................................................................. viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... ix INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 1 Purpose of this report ............................................................................................................. 1 Background ............................................................................................................................ 1 METHODS ................................................................................................................................. 2 Selection of trials .................................................................................................................... 2 Taxa trials ........................................................................................................................... 2 Nutrition trials...................................................................................................................... 4 Measurements and assessments .......................................................................................... 4 Taxa trials...........................................................................................................................4 Nutrition trials......................................................................................................................5 Data collation ............................................................................................................................. 6 Database programming ...................................................................................................... 6 Volume equations ............................................................................................................... 6 Soils .................................................................................................................................... 7 Data analysis .......................................................................................................................... 8 Taxa evaluation trials ......................................................................................................... 8 Nutrition trials...................................................................................................................... 8 RESULTS .................................................................................................................................. 9 Taxa trials ............................................................................................................................... 9 Growth ................................................................................................................................ 9 Survival and borer damage ................................................................................................ 9 Wood density, carbon sequestration and pulp productivity .............................................. 13 Volume equations ............................................................................................................. 14 Productivity drivers of plantation growth in north-eastern Australia ................................. 15 Nutrition trials ....................................................................................................................... 15 Tree growth ...................................................................................................................... 15 Tree form .......................................................................................................................... 16 Wood quality ..................................................................................................................... 16 Pest susceptibility ............................................................................................................. 16 DISCUSSION .......................................................................................................................... 17 Possible impacts from climate change. ............................................................................... 17 Taxa performance by region ................................................................................................ 18 Taxa suitability across regions and products ................................................................... 20 Issues with the dataset and data analysis ........................................................................ 22 Variation in wood properties across regions .................................................................... 23 Refocussing the tree improvement programs in north-eastern Australia ......................... 23 Volume equations ............................................................................................................. 24 Productivity drivers of plantation growth in north-eastern Australia ................................. 24 Potential of the study to guide process based model development for plantations in north- eastern Australia .............................................................................................................. 25 Nutritional impacts on growth and performance .................................................................. 25 RECOMENDATIONS .............................................................................................................. 26 CERTIFICATON......................................................................................................................27 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................ 28 Map 1. Bureau of Meteorology Forecast Regions and locations of trials assessed for this study. ....................................................................................................................................... 31 Appendix 1. Growth at age 10 years for each taxon in taxa comparison field trials .............. 32 Appendix 2. Survival and borer performance at age 10 years for each taxon. ...................... 38 Appendix 3. Predicted wood density, volume, carbon sequestered and pulp productivity at age 10 years for selected taxa. ............................................................................................... 44 Appendix 4 Testing for Significant differences between taxa .................................................. 46 Appendix 5. Graphical presentation of volume equations and actual data for selected taxon. ................................................................................................................................................. 47 iii Appendix 6. Summary of the regression model used to predict mean annual increment