Sustainable management of Eucalyptus pellita plantations: A review

This paper reviews current knowledge of Eucalyptus pellita plantations to identify management practices for optimizing productivity and maintaining sustainability in the equatorial and tropical environments where it is grown. A combination of genetic improvement and silvicultural practices have markedly improved E. pellita productivity in recent decades. The productivity of E. pellita plantations around the world ranges from 9.4 to 34.9 m3/ha/year, with a tendency to be more productive in regions that receive higher annual rainfall. Because responses vary on water-limited sites, site-specific management practices such as the planting of superior hybrids and clones, and stocking management, are important for optimizing E. pellita growth. We identified several research gaps in understanding the impact of E. pellita harvest residue management on tree growth, benefits of intercropping E. pellita with N-fixing species, the capability and required management of E. pellita coppices to develop new rotation, and E. pellita water use and water requirements. The uncertain taxonomic status of E. pellita is also noted - with the possibility that E. biterranea is a separate species in the more continuously warm and wet equatorial far northern Queensland and Papua/Papua New Guinea geographic range of E. pellita. This may have implications for the continuous development of genetic material for the range of environments currently planted with E. pellita - and for understanding the potential impacts of climate change on productivity, and pest and disease resistance.