Results of a species trial of cold tolerant eucalypts in south west England

Leslie, Andrew ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6327-1711 , Mencuccini, Maurizio, Purse, John G. and Perks, Mike P. (2014) Results of a species trial of cold tolerant eucalypts in south west England. Quarterly Journal of Forestry, 108 (1). p. 18.

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Abstract

A trial of six cold-tolerant eucalypt species, planted in 1981 near Exeter, in south west England, was assessed in 2010 for height, diameter at breast height and survival. The predicted soil moisture deficit on the site is low and it is relatively warm (AT 1662.5) and sheltered (DAMS 126), although it experienced a succession of cold winters in the 6 years following planting.The growth of some E. delegatensis was very rapid; the productivity of the seedlot having best survival (48%) was38 m3 ha-1 yr-1 although this seedlot was collected from one mother tree and was unrepresentative of the broader population at that location. Of the closely-related species E. johnstonii and E.subcrenulata, seedlots recorded as E. johnstonii had poor average survival (26%) and growth (7 m3 ha-1 y-1), while E. subcrenulata seedlots from Mount Cattley, Tasmania exhibited both good average survival (68%) and growth (25 m3 ha-1 y-1), with progenies from individual mother trees performing substantially better. Based on the results of this assessment, selected sources of E. subcrenulata appears suitable for woody biomass production in sheltered sites in south west England.Of the closely related E. coccifera and E. nitida, the former showed better survival, at 18% against 5%. The poor performance of these species is surprising, as the latter species, which is less cold-tolerant, has grown and survived well elsewhere in south west England, and overall survival of both species at Exeter in 1995 was 60%. The good cold-tolerance andgrowth of certain seedlots from single mother trees within provenances suggests that much of the variation in performance of all species is genetically determined at family rather than provenance level. The larger surviving trees in the trial could provide germplasm for further trials, with the possibility of later conversion of parts of the Exeter trial to seed stands.

Item Type:	Article
Journal / Publication Title:	Quarterly Journal of Forestry
Publisher:	Royal Forestry Society
ISSN:	0033-5568
Departments:	Academic Departments > Science, Natural Resources & Outdoor Studies (SNROS) > Forestry and Conservation
Depositing User:	Insight Administrator
Date Deposited:	18 Dec 2014 14:38
Last Modified:	12 Jan 2024 12:16
URI:	https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/1639

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