Mixed species plantations: does diversity help tropical eucalypts grow faster, better, longer? To test the assumption that mixtures are better than monocultures, using data from experiments (QFRI) and community plantings. Growth rate, habit (form, branching), timber and soil characteristics in Eucalyptus pellita (Red Mahogany) plantings should elucidate whether mixtures:
1. grow (above-ground woody biomass) faster than pure plantings;
2. have straighter trees with smaller branches;
3. improve ....Mixed species plantations: does diversity help tropical eucalypts grow faster, better, longer? To test the assumption that mixtures are better than monocultures, using data from experiments (QFRI) and community plantings. Growth rate, habit (form, branching), timber and soil characteristics in Eucalyptus pellita (Red Mahogany) plantings should elucidate whether mixtures:
1. grow (above-ground woody biomass) faster than pure plantings;
2. have straighter trees with smaller branches;
3. improve soil fertility; and whether
4. differences are accentuated in subsequent rotations.
E. pellita has valuable dark-red timber, and is widely planted in north Queensland, despite variable performance (3-30 m3/ha/yr, average 10m3/ha/yr). Analyses will reveal opportunities for conservation outcomes and sustainable timber production.Read moreRead less
Explaining forest responses to rising carbon-dioxide concentrations at stand scale using a new, simple model of plant carbon economy. Australia is undergoing large changes in [CO2] and rainfall patterns, with 20% decreases in annual rainfall across southern Australia over the past 30 years, and large increases in north-western Australia. The impacts of rising [CO2] and altered rainfall must be factored into Australia's environmental and water-catchment management strategies. The outcome of this ....Explaining forest responses to rising carbon-dioxide concentrations at stand scale using a new, simple model of plant carbon economy. Australia is undergoing large changes in [CO2] and rainfall patterns, with 20% decreases in annual rainfall across southern Australia over the past 30 years, and large increases in north-western Australia. The impacts of rising [CO2] and altered rainfall must be factored into Australia's environmental and water-catchment management strategies. The outcome of this project will be a new simplified forest model that has been validated for Australia's leading climate-change experiment on forests, the Hawkesbury Forest Experiment, which includes both CO2 and watering treatments. The model will be readily transferable to new sites and at regional scale, so it can be applied as a tool for future management of Australia's forests.Read moreRead less