Effect of differences in climate on growth, wood, and pulp properties of nine eucalypt species at two sites.

Growth and wood properties of trees from nine eucalypt species in trials at two different sites were measured to evaluate the influence of environment. A large difference in mean annual temperature between the two sites had little effect on species ranking for most properties. There were significant differences between sites for growth (diameter, height, and volume), wood (lignin, pentosans, and density) and pulp (yield, alkali consumption, rate of delignification, and brightness) properties, but a greater proportion of the variation occurred between and within species for all properties except wood density. E. fraxinoides, E. smithii, and E. oreades were the most desirable species because of high pulp yield, fiber yield, and brightness but low kappa number and alkall consumption. There was a significant site-by-species interaction for mass of fiber per tree as well as a significant difference between species, suggesting that improvement could be best achieved through a combination of selecting between trees and species as well as by matching the species to the growing site. Improvements in the other important pulp properties mostly depended on species selection for a particular site. Application : this paper provides information on some of the variation (genetic and environmental) that occurs in eucalypt timber and suggests how it is best managed.