Abstract
Previous studies in Eucalyptus nitens have revealed favourable genetic correlations exist between acoustic wave velocity (AWV) in standing trees and modulus of elasticity (MOE), which can determine the suitability of trees for structural timber and/or engineered wood products. This study investigates the strength and stability of genetic variation in standing tree AWV across a range of environments in Tasmania, where there are a number of large plantation estates and breeding trials. Trees under study were from open-pollinated progeny trials established in 1993. Across sites, for standing tree AWV the ranking of E. nitens races did not change and within-race additive genetic correlations were strong (0.61 to 0.99). Heritabilities (0.16 to 0.74) and coefficients of additive genetic variation (2.6 to 4.8) were moderate for this trait. Correlations between standing tree AWV and both basic density and diameter at breast height (DBH) were favourable. Results indicate that there is potential to improve MOE in E. nitens through the exploitation of genetic variation in AWV among and within races, the expression of genetic variation in AWV is relatively stable across different growing environments, and past selection for basic density and growth in pulpwood breeding programs is unlikely to have adversely affected MOE.
Highlights
Eucalyptus nitens (Dean and Maiden) Maiden is widely-grown in temperate regions of the world for both pulpwood and solid timber products [1]
In this comprehensive study of the genetic control of acoustic wave velocity (AWV) in eucalypts, we have shown that standing tree AWV in E. nitens is under strong genetic control and genetic differences are relatively stable across diverse growing environments at the race and within-race levels
This conclusion is based on the growth of open-pollinated progenies from the Central Victorian races of E. nitens grown on sites covering the range of altitudes (120 m to 600 m), over which most plantations of the species are grown on the island of Tasmania [26]
Summary
Eucalyptus nitens (Dean and Maiden) Maiden is widely-grown in temperate regions of the world for both pulpwood and solid timber products [1]. In Australia, the E. nitens plantations estate is. Australia and grows naturally in the cool, wet temperate regions of the central highlands of Victoria and nearby mountainous regions of southern NSW, with two other outlying populations occurring at high elevations in New South Wales [4,5]. The species is genetically diverse, and has been separated into five genetically and geographically distinct races, three from central Victoria and two from. Meta-analyses of world-wide provenance trials of the species show that at a broad-scale these races are climatically adapted [6].
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