History and Status ofEucalyptusImprovement in Florida

Abstract

Cooperative formed to provide additional support emphasized E. grandis, E. robusta, E. camaldulensis, and E. tereticornis and developed cultural practices for commercial plantations in southern Florida. In 1978, this cooperative united with the Hardwood Research Cooperative at North Carolina State University until 1985 when the 14-year effort ended after three severe freezes from 1983 to 1985. Eucalyptus planting and research were continued with a Florida-wide focus by the University of Florida and collaborators starting in 1980. The collective accomplishments in terms of genetic resources and commercial planting are summarized. For example, fast-growing, freeze-resilient E. grandis seedlings are produced by advanced generation seed orchards, five E. grandis cultivars are commercially available, as are E. amplifolia and Corymbia torelliana seeds. Genetic improvement of these and other species is ongoing due to beneficial collaborations. Short Rotation Woody Crop systems are promising for increasing productivity and extending uses beyond conventional pulpwood to applications such as windbreaks, dendroremediation, and energy wood.

Ecosystem Services of Woody Crop Production Systems

“…The history of Eucalyptus in the continental USA dates back to the California Gold Rush of the mid-1800s [70], but [80][81][82]. A sustained interest developed in the Southern USA, specifically in Florida [70,83]. Industry-funded cooperative research programs provided support for the USDA FS Lehigh Acres Laboratory [84].…”

“…Short-rotation Eucalyptus potentially could produce more biomass than loblolly pine if frost-tolerant site-adapted genotypes can be identified. Short rotation systems in Peninsular Florida using E. grandis and cabbage gum (Eucalyptus amplifolia Naudin) can produce up to 67.0 green Mg ha −1 year −1 in multiple 3-year rotations [83]. Appropriate sites are likely on soils of sandy clay loam and clay loam textures and moderately well-to well-drained soils, avoiding sites with imperfect or excessive drainage [70].…”

Sixteen properties of Eucalyptus Tereticornis wood for structural uses

“…Its trees occur in the Australian regions of New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria (WALLIS, 1970;BEAN, 2013), having the most extensive latitudinal distribution of its genus (BOLAND et al, 2006). Also, such species is found in the United States (FOELKEL;BARRICHELO;MILANEZ, 1975;ROCKWOOD, 2012), Mexico (FOROUGHBAKHCH et al, 2017), Brazil (SILVA et al, 2007;QUEIROZ et al, 2010;MENTONE et al, 2011;SEGUNDINHO et al, 2015), Argentina (VILLAS BÔAS et al, 2009), Colombia (LÓPEZ; BARRIOS; TRINCADO, 2015), India (SHARMA et al, 2005;VARGHESE et al, 2008;CHEZHIAN et al, 2010), and Nigeria (ADEGBEHIN; OKOJIE; NOKOE, 1988) as well as in Ecuador, Uruguay, Chile, Guyana, South Africa, Portugal and Turkey (FAO/UN, 1981). Greater preferences in plantations are due to its fast growth, wide adaptability to varied weather conditions, and high drought resistance (RAO et al, 2002), being among the main cultivated eucalypts in Brazil (QUEIROZ et al, 2010).…”

Short Rotation Eucalypts: Opportunities for Biochar

“…Eucalypts are the world's most valuable and widely planted hardwoods (up to 21.7 million ha in 61 countries by 2030 [1]) and have numerous potential applications as short rotation woody crops (SRWCs) [2,3]. Several Eucalyptus planting stocks have promise as SRWCs in Florida [4,5], including E. grandis x E. urophylla cultivars such as EH1. After four generations of E. grandis genetic improvement for Florida's unique climatic and edaphic conditions starting in the 1960s and clonal testing initiated in the 1980s across a wide range of site/soil types, the University of Florida released five G Series cultivars in 2009 for commercial planting [4,5].…”

“…Several Eucalyptus planting stocks have promise as SRWCs in Florida [4,5], including E. grandis x E. urophylla cultivars such as EH1. After four generations of E. grandis genetic improvement for Florida's unique climatic and edaphic conditions starting in the 1960s and clonal testing initiated in the 1980s across a wide range of site/soil types, the University of Florida released five G Series cultivars in 2009 for commercial planting [4,5]. Although G1 is no longer commercially viable due to susceptibility to blue gum chalcid (Leptocybe invasa), G2 through G5 have shown resilience to damaging freezes, tolerance to infertile soils, exceptional stem form, improved coppicing ability, chalcid resistance, and varying degrees of windfirmness.…”