Tag: Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus Freezes in the Piedmont

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
When a cold snap killed the Eucalyptus benthamii saplings, no one was surprised. E. benthamii is one of the most cold-tolerant of approximately 700 Eucalypts. Still, it is maladapted to the North Carolina Piedmont, according to a recent USDA Forest Service study published in Forest Science. “Winters are becoming milder,” says John Butnor, an SRS…  More 

Eucalyptus or Loblolly: Which Uses More Water?

by Jennifer Moore Myers, SRS Science Communications  • 
When asked which tree uses more water, the native, industry favorite loblolly pine or the ultra-fast growing immigrant from Australia, Eucalyptus, U.S. Forest Service biological scientist Chris Maier had a quick answer: both. “Growing wood requires water,” says Maier. Loblolly and slash pines currently serve as the main sources of wood fiber in the South,…  More 

How Sustainable are Eucalyptus Plantations?

by Ying Ouyang and Theodor D. Leininger, SRS Center for Bottomland Hardwoods Research  • 
Eucalypts – woody plants originally found in Australia — have been identified as one of the best feedstocks for bioenergy production due to their fast-growth rate and coppicing ability, but there are concerns about adverse environmental effects, some related to water consumption, and their water use efficiency is still poorly understood. U.S. Forest Service research…  More 

A Future for Freeze-Tolerant Eucalyptus in the South?

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
Recently published research by U.S. Forest Service scientists provides important first-time analyses of the potential impacts of introducing plantations of freeze-tolerant Eucalyptus into the South. Eucalyptus, a fast-growing tree native to Australia and Indonesia, is planted across large areas of Asia, Africa, and South America as a major source of hardwood fiber for paper and…  More 

Coweeta Receives Grant to Study Hydrology of Bioenergy Crops

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory (Coweeta) scientists and collaborators recently received a $972,000 grant from the USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) to study water use in loblolly pine—the most commercially important tree species in the southeastern U.S. and the primary candidate for woody bioenergy production in the region—and…  More 

Eucalyptus in the South

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Because it grows rapidly and can develop high wood density, there’s increasing interest in the South for growing Eucalyptus commercially as a bioenergy feedstock. For the South, this means finding and testing Eucalyptus species that will grow in temperate areas as well as genetically modified hybrids bred to be frost tolerant. Growing well under a…  More 

Eucalyptus Symposium: February 22-24, Charleston, SC

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Register now:  Symposium on the Assessment and Management of Environmental Issues Related to Eucalyptus Culture in the South Eucalyptus species are among the most widely planted tree species in the world and of increasing interest in the United States for bioenergy. In the South, non-native Eucalyptus species have the potential to produce much more bioenergy…  More