SURVIVAL, GROWTH AND PRODUCTIVITY OF TREE SPECIES UNDER EVALUATION FOR AGROFORESTRY TO CONTROL SALINITY IN THE WESTERN-AUSTRALIAN WHEAT-BELT

Survival and growth were investigated for 10 Eucalyptus species and 2 fodder tree species planted for salinity control in the wheatbelt of Western Australia. After two years of growth the trees were harvested to determine fodder biomass production and yields of cineole from the eucalyptus leaf oil. Subsequent harvests were conducted at three and five years after planting. At each harvest, biomass production from fodder species was greater than from most species of eucalypts. Biomass yields from eucalypts were variable, and there were no consistent trends in the productivity of the different species for the three harvests. Leaf cineole concentrations and cineole yields were low after two years of growth, but after three and five years cineole yields were generally higher from all species. E. kochii subspp. plenissima and kochii, E. horistes, E. radiata and E. angustissima produced consistently high cineole yields after three and five years. These species appear to have potential for the production of high grade eucalyptus oil in the wheatbelt of Western Australia.