Abstract
Eucalypts can be very productive when intensively grown as short rotation woody crops (SRWC) for bioproducts. In Florida, USA, a fertilized, herbicided, and irrigated cultivar planted at 2471 trees/ha could produce over 58 green mt/ha/year in 3.7 years, and at 2071 trees/ha, its net present value (NPV) exceeded $750/ha at a 6% discount rate and stumpage price of $11.02/green mt. The same cultivar grown less intensively at three planting densities had the highest stand basal area at the highest density through 41 months, although individual tree diameter at breast height (DBH) was the smallest. In combination with an organic fertilizer, biochar improved soil properties, tree leaf nutrients, and tree growth within 11 months of application. Biochar produced from Eucalyptus and other species is a useful soil amendment that, especially in combination with an organic fertilizer, could improve soil physical and chemical properties and increase nutrient availability to enhance Eucalyptus tree nutrition and growth on sandy soils. Eucalypts produce numerous naturally occurring bioproducts and are suitable feedstocks for many other biochemically or thermochemically derived bioproducts that could enhance the value of SRWCs.
Highlights
Eucalypts are the world’s most valuable and widely planted hardwoods and have numerous potential applications as short rotation woody crops (SRWCs) [2,3]
Using experience in Florida, USA, we describe eucalypts’ potential for maximizing SRWC
Even under high plantation establishment and management costs, low stumpage prices, and expected coppice yields, cultivar deployment can yield positive cash flows at real discount rates greater than 10%
Summary
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]. 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]. 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. Economic analyses using current stumpage prices, high silvicultural management costs, and expected coppice yields, have shown that G Series cultivars can generate internal rates of return greater than 10% [6]
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