Leslie,  Andrew,  Mencuccini,  Maurizio  and Perks,  Mike P.   (2018) Preliminary growth functions for Eucalyptus gunnii in the UK. Biomass and Bioenergy, 108 . pp. 464469. 

Downloaded from: http://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/3287/

Usage of any items from the University of  Cumbria’s  institutional repository ‘Insight’  must conform to the  following fair usage guidelines.

Any item and its associated metadata held in the University of Cumbria’s  institutional  repository  Insight  (unless stated otherwise on the metadata record) may be copied, displayed or performed, and stored in line with the JISC fair dealing guidelines (available here) for educational and notforprofit activities

provided that

• the authors, title and full bibliographic details of the item are cited clearly when any partof the work is referred to verbally or in the written form 

• a hyperlink/URL to the original Insight record of that item is included in any citations of the work

• the content is not changed in any way

• all files required for usage of the item are kept together with the main item file.

You may not

• sell any part of an item

• refer to any part of an item without citation

• amend any item or contextualise it in a way that will impugn the creator’s reputation

• remove or alter the copyright statement on an item.

The full policy can be found here. Alternatively contact the University of Cumbria Repository Editor by emailing insight@cumbria.ac.uk.

http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/services/elib/papers/pa/fair/mailto:insight@cumbria.ac.ukhttp://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/legal.html#section5

1IntroductionOftheeucalypts,cidergum(Eucalyptusgunnii),ahighaltitudespecies,endemictoTasmaniaisoneofthehardiestspecies[1,2].IthasalonghistoryintheUnitedKingdom,wasthefirstAustraliantreetobesuccessfully

grownoutdoorsandisnowrelativelycommoningardensandparks[3].Therearespecimensof individualsplantedalmost100yearsago,atestamenttothegoodadaptationof thespeciestopartsof theUKwherecold isnota

limitation[3].ResultsfromprovenancetrialsintheUKhaveindicatedthesuperiorityingrowthandsurvivaloftheLakeMcKenzieprovenances[4,5]andthereispotentialforenhancingcoldhardinessinE.gunniithroughselection;

Evans[4]describedsomeindividualsthathadsurvivedminimumtemperaturesof-18°C.

ThepotentialforimprovingyieldsofE.gunniithroughtreeimprovementandrigoroussilviculturecanbeobservedintrialsinFrance,wherealongtermpulpplantationprogrammehasdevelopedclonesofE.gunnii,selected

forproductivityandcoldtolerance.Furthermore,E.xgundal,ahybridbetweenE.gunniiandE.dalrympleanahasbeencreated,whichcombinesthebettergrowthratesandformofEucalyptusdalrympleanawiththegreatercold

toleranceofE.gunnii.Establishmentandtendingpracticesareintensiveandgrowthfromtheseplantationshasbeenimpressive;standingvolumesofbetween160and215m3ha−1ormeanannual incrementsofbetween13and

18m3ha−1year−1ofstemvolumehavebeenachievedovera12yearrotation[6].

GrowthofE.gunniiintheUKhasbeenestimatedinasmallnumberofstudies[5,7],buttherearenocontinuousmeasurementsofvolumegrowth.Table1describessomeofthepublishedestimatesofgrowthreportedinthe

literatureandfrompersonalcommunications.AlltheestimatesofvolumewerebasedonmeasurementsofDBHandheight,fromwhichstemvolumeisestimatedmakingcertainassumptionsonstemform.Theannualincrementsin

Researchpaper

PreliminarygrowthfunctionsforEucalyptusgunniiintheUK

A.D.Lesliea,∗

Andrew.leslie@cumbria.ac.uk

M.Mencuccinib

maurizio@staffmail.ed.ac.uk

M.P.Perksc

mike.perks@forestry.gov.uk

aNationalSchoolofForestry,UniversityofCumbria,AmblesideCampus,RydalRoad,Ambleside,LA229BB,UK

bCREAF,UniversityAutonomousBarcelona,CampusdeBellaterra,EdificiC08193CerdanyoladelVallès,Barcelona,Spain

cCentreforForestryandClimateChange,ForestResearch,NorthernResearchStation,Roslin,MidlothianEH259SY,UK

∗Correspondingauthor.

Abstract

ThisstudyrepresentsthefirstattempttodevelopgrowthfunctionsforEucalyptusgunniigrownintheUK.Functionsrelatingheightandage,heightandDBH,cumulativevolumeandageandmeanannualincrement

andageweredevelopedusinghistoricdata.TheseindicatedthatstandsintheUKachievedanaveragegrowthrateof16m3ha−1y−1orapproximately8Mgha−1y−1ofdrystembiomassatanageoftwentyyears.Thereis

evidencethatyieldscanbeconsiderablyhigherwhereintensivesilviculture,suchasuseofplasticmulchesandnutrientinputshasbeenpractised,suchasatDaneshillinNottinghamshire,wheretreesattainedaheightof

10.6minfiveandahalfyears.However,potentialyieldsareoftencompromisedbyhighmortalityandapriorityshouldbetoidentifyareasintheUKwhereE.gunniicanbegrownwithlowriskandalsotochoosewell

adaptedgeneticmaterial.

Keywords:Eucalyptus;UnitedKingdom;Shortrotationforestry;Biomass;Volume;Growth;Yield

weightfortheNewForeststudywerecalculatedfromvolumesandanassumedwooddensity,butforDaneshillthevalueswerebasedontheactualweightharvestedandchippedandincludesbranches.Table2presentsresultsof

growthfromtrialsgrowingE.gunniiasshortrotationcoppice.

Table1Publishedandotherinformationongrowthratesofnon-coppicedE.gunniiintheUK.

alt-text:Table1

Location Age(years)Standingvolumeor

biomass Meanannualincrement Notes

Daneshill1 5 85tMgha−1 17Mgha−1y−1 FromamixofstandsofE.gunniiandthemoreproductiveE.nitens.Deadstemswerestandingforsixmonthssowoodwasrelativelydry.Stockingapproximately2940ha−1

NewForest2 7 97m3ha−1 13.9m3ha−1y−1/6.2Mgha−1y−1 Fromaspacingexperiment,plantedat5102ha−1.Biomassproductionisonadryweightbasis.

NewForest2 7 19m3ha−1 2.7m3ha−1y−1 Fromaspacingexperiment,plantedat1276ha−1

Thetford3a 21 261m3ha−1 12.4m3ha−1y−1 Fromsmall,lineplotsinaprovenancetrial,plantedat1850ha−1with48%survivalgiving888ha−1.

Glenbranter4b 25 452m3ha−1 18.1m3ha−1y−1 Fromsmall,lineplotsinaprovenancetrial,plantedat1842ha−1with96%survivalgiving1768ha−1

Chiddingfold5c 25 435m3ha−1 17.4m3ha−1y−1 Fromtwo0.01haplotsmeasuredinasmallblockplanting,meanstockingof1150ha−1.1[8],2[7],3[9],4[5],5[10].aMeanofthreeprovenances,bMeanoffiveLakeMcKenzieseedlots.cMeanoftwoprovenances.

Table2PublishedandotherinformationongrowthratesinMgdrymatterperhectareperyearofshortrotationcoppiceE.gunniiintheUKandIreland.

alt-text:Table2

Location Age(years) Meanannualincrement(Mgha−1year−1) Notes

UniversityCollegeDublin1 1a 12.6 Plantedat2657ha−1

UniversityCollegeDublin1 1a 15.4 Plantedat3267ha−1

LongAshton3 2b 13.0 Plantedat10000ha−1

LongAshton3 2b 9.9 Plantedat2500ha−1

Mepal3 2b 12.7 Plantedat10000ha−1

Mepal3 2b 4.2 Plantedat2500ha−1

Whitney3 2b 4.7 Plantedat10000ha−1

Whitney3 2b 2.5 Plantedat2500ha−1

LongAshton2 4b 18.4b Plantedat10000ha−1but60%survival,so6000ha−1

LongAshton3 4b 13.5 Plantedat10000ha−1

LongAshton3 4b 8.3 Plantedat2500ha−1

1[11],2[12],3[13].aButstoolsare13yearsoldandbeensuccessivelyharvestedeveryyear.bAgeofshootsafterbeingcutbacktoinitiatecoppiceatoneyearold.cmeanofyieldsin1985/86and1986/87.

Tounderstandthepatternofgrowthovertimeandconducteconomicanalyses,growthcurvesarerequired.ForE.gunnii,theonlygrowthcurvespublishedarefromplantationsinFrance[14,15].Therearenogrowthcurves

fortreesgrownintheUKandnocontinuoustimeseriesdatasetsintheUKcoveringthepredictedrotationlengthsforshortrotationplantationsofE.gunnii.Therearehoweverdatafrommeasurementsofheightanddiameteror

heightaloneatapointintimeorsometimesseveralmeasurementsoverarestrictedperiodoftimefromtrialsestablishedbyForestResearchfromthe1980sandafewothertrials.Mostoftheseprovidedataongrowthinthefirstfive

yearsbutthereareafewmeasurementsofoldertrees.

ThisstudywasdevisedtoprovidepreliminaryestimatesofstemgrowthofE.gunniiintheUKandtheaimwastodevelopageneralisedgrowthcurverelatingvolumeperunitareatostandage.

2MethodsandanalysisThelackofcontinuousgrowthdataandlimitedgeographicalspreadofplantingsofE.gunniiinBritainpresentaconsiderableproblemwhendevelopingageneralisedgrowthcurve.Dataongrowthwereextractedfromfilesof

trialsestablishedbyForestResearch,NottinghamshireCountyCouncilandThoresbyHallEstateandmeansforstandsatthesitescalculatedforheightand,whereavailable,forDBH.ThesedataaresummarisedinTable3andthe

locationsinFig.1.Ageinyearsispresentedtotwodecimalplaces(onedecimalplaceisnotsufficientlyprecisetodifferentiatebetweenmonths;forexampleboth3monthsand4monthsroundedwouldbe0.3years).

Table3Treesizedata:location,height,DBH,samplesizeandstocking.

alt-text:Table3

Age(months) Age(yrs) Height(m) N DBH(cm) Stocking(numberha−1)

Chiddingfold 5 0.42 0.5 59 1313

Chiddingfold 14 1.17 1.4 58 1291

Chiddingfold 26 2.17 1.2 50 1113

Chiddingfold 29 2.42 1.5 975 1716

Chiddingfold 38 3.17 2.3 49 1091

Chiddingfold 85 7.08 5.4 975 1202

Chiddingfold 311 25.92 22.8 23 19.1 1150

Chiddingfold 336 28.00 19.4 10 19.2 N/A

Dalton 5 0.42 0.7 N/A 2500

Dalton 16 1.33 1.3 N/A 2317

Dalton 35 2.92 2.0 N/A 2317

Dalton 282 23.50 17.8 N/A 23.3 2584

Daneshill 28 2.33 5.4 14 8.3 2940

Daneshill 41 3.42 7.6 14 12.3 2940

Daneshill 53 4.42 8.1 14 11.4 2940

Daneshill 65 5.42 10.6 13 12.4 2940

Glenbranter 29 2.42 1.2 78 1330

Glenbranter 34 2.83 1.2 78 1330

Glenbranter 54 4.50 2.5 79 1347

Glenbranter 107 8.92 9.3 N/A 8.6 N/A

Glenbranter 120 10.00 9.7 79 9.8 1347

Glenbranter 178 14.83 15.8 5 13.7 N/A

Glenbranter 308 25.67 14.9 74 19.1 1262

Glenbranter 516 43.00 30.1 45 35.2 N/A

NewForest 5 0.42 0.1 130 1275

NewForest 45 3.75 7.2 130 1275

NewForest 53 4.42 7.3 130 5.8 1275

NewForest 75 6.25 10.5 130 8.0 1275

Thoresby 126 10.50 16.4 35 20.7 2500

Tintern 2 0.17 0.4 60 3265

Tintern 16 1.33 1.2 28 3265

Tintern 28 2.33 1.4 63 3265

Tintern 29 2.42 2.0 59 3265

Tintern 43 3.58 3.5 28 3265

Tintern 55 4.58 3.5 63 3265

Wykeham 18 1.50 1.5 N/A N/A

Fig.1Locationsofstandscontributinggrowthdata:1=Glenbranter(56°06′54N,005°04′02W)2=Dalton(54°17′05N,002°50′30W),3=Wykeham(N/A),4=Daneshill(53°21′50N,000°58′57W),5=Thoresby(53°26′32N,000°59′39W),6=Tintern

(51°44′37N,002°41′01W),7=Chiddingfold(51°03′49N,00°035′29W)and8=NewForest(50°23′38N,001°38′35E).

Thesedatawereusedtodevelopaheightbyagecurve,aDBHbyheightcurveandthroughapplyingtheAFOCELvolumefunctionastemvolumebyagecurve.Duetothesmallamountofdataavailableingeneralandoftime-

seriesdatainparticular,equationsproventoaccuratelymodelheightbyagewereappliedtothehistoricUKdata.Theequationsused[16,17]areshownbelow:

1 Gompertzmodel:y=a·exp(-exp(b-cx))

2 Exponentialmodel:y=a·exp(b(x+c))

3 Richard'smodel:y=a·(1-exp(b·x)c)

4 Korfmodel:Y=a·(exp(b·x-c)

Whereyisheightandxisageinyears,witha,bandcbeingparametersinthemodels.

Toenablevolumegrowthtobeestimated,afunctionrelatingdiametertoheightwasalsorequired.Asdiameterisstronglyinfluencedbystocking,onlydataondiameterfromtreesplantedatstockingsofbetween1200and

2500treesha−1wereusedtoderivearelationshipbetweenheightandDBHusingregression.Toderivethisrelationship,thecurvefittingtoolinSPSSv19wasusedwhichenableselevendifferenttypesoffunctiontobefitted.

Allheightdataacrosstherangeofstockingswasusedtofitaheight:agecurve,asheightisrelativelyindependentofstocking.ThiswasundertakenusingthenonlinearregressiontoolsinSPSSv19.

ToobtainapreliminaryestimateofvolumegrowthacrossBritain,thepredictedheightandpredictedDBHatthoseheightsuptoanageoftwentyyearswereconvertedtovolumesusingtheAFOCELvolumefunction(see

additionalwebmaterial)toobtainastemvolumefortreesuptotwentyyears.TheAFOCELequationincorporatedheightanddiameteratbreastheight,whereV=overbarkvolume(m3),DBH=diameteratbreastheight(cm)and

h=height(m).

Theanalysiswasrestrictedtothefirsttwentyyearsasselfthinningandothermortalityislikelytohavehadanimpactonstockinginlateryears.Also,growthafter20yearsislikelytohavebeenlessthanthatofwellmanaged

standsduetotheonsetofinter-treecompetition,withallbutthedominanttreesinthestandsbeingaffected.Amedianinitialstockingof1350treeshectare−1,basedonthestandssampledwasusedtoconvertstemvolumetovolume

perhectareanditwasassumedtherewasnomortality.

3ResultsNonlinearregressionofheightagainstagewasundertakenusingfourcommonlyusedfunctionsandtheRichard'sfunctionwasfoundtogivethebestfitintermsofhighR2andlowstandarderror(Table4).Thecurvederived

fromtheRichard'sequationisshowngraphicallyinFig.2,withtheheightcurvefromFrenchplantations[15]superimposed.

Table4DescriptionofthebestfitmodelsforageandheightandheightandDBH.

alt-text:Table4

X y Model N r2 SEE A B c

Age(years) Height(m) Richards 34 0.911 2.370 43.16 −0.022 0.851

Height(m) DBH(cm) Lineara(y=a+b·x) 15 0.843 3.181 0.797 1.044 –

aWhereYisDBHandXisheightandaandbareparametersforthemodel.

alt-text:Fig.1

V=(-5.04+(0.03556·DBH2·h))/1000

EleventypesoffunctionwereusedinregressionofDBHagainstheightandwerecomparedthroughR2andstandarderror.Ofthesealinearrelationshipprovidedthebestfittothedata,intermsofahighR2andlowestSEE

(Table4andFig.3).

Usingthetwofunctions,heightandDBHatagesupto20yearswereestimatedandstemvolumesforeachagefromfivetotwentyyearswascalculatedusingtheAFOCELfunction.Thestandingvolumecurveusingthis

approachisshowninFig.4andvaluesforstemvolume,stembiomassandmeanannualincrementarepresentedinTable5.Meanannualstemvolumeincrementoveratwentyyearrotationwas16m3ha−1year−1andapplyingabasic

densityof500kgm−3[18],givesameanannualdryweightincrementof8Mgha−1year−1.

Fig.2MeanplotheightsbyagewithfittedRichards'functionandincomparisontheFCBAheightcurve[15].FCBAheightfunctionisbasedontreesupto12yearsoldandsohasnotbeenappliedtooldertrees.

alt-text:Fig.2

Fig.3Relationshipbetweendbhandheight,withbestfitline.

alt-text:Fig.3

Table5PredictedDBH,height,stemvolumeandvolumeperhectare(assumingstockingdensityof1350ha−1)byageusingbestfitfunctionsforheightandage,DBHandheightandtheAFOCELvolumefunction.alt-text:Table5

Age(year) Height(m) DBH(cm) treevolume(m3) Volumeperunitarea(m3ha−1) dryweightperunitarea(Mgha−1) MAI(m3ha−1y−1)

5 6.3 7.4 0.007 9.6 4.8 1.9

6 7.3 8.4 0.013 17.9 9.0 3.0

7 8.2 9.4 0.021 28.1 14.0 4.0

8 9.1 10.3 0.030 40.1 20.1 5.0

9 10.0 11.3 0.040 54.0 27.0 6.0

10 10.9 12.1 0.052 69.8 34.9 7.0

11 11.7 13.0 0.065 87.5 43.7 8.0

12 12.4 13.8 0.079 106.9 53.5 8.9

13 13.2 14.6 0.095 128.1 64.1 9.9

14 13.9 15.4 0.112 151.0 75.5 10.8

15 14.7 16.1 0.130 175.5 87.8 11.7

16 15.3 16.8 0.149 201.6 100.8 12.6

17 16.0 17.5 0.170 229.3 114.6 13.5

18 16.7 18.2 0.191 258.3 129.2 14.4

19 17.3 18.9 0.214 288.7 144.4 15.2

20 17.9 19.5 0.237 320.5 160.2 16.0

4Discussion

Fig.4Predictedstandingoverbarkstemvolumebyage,withtreevolumecalculatedusingdbhandheightestimatedfromtheage:heightfunctionandheight:dbhfunctionandvolumefromtheAFOCELfunction.Stockingwasassumedtobeaconstant1350

treesha−1.

alt-text:Fig.4

ThisstudyrepresentsthefirstworktocharacterisegrowthcurvesofE.gunniiintheUKandtheresultsarediscussedbelow.Thewidespreadinthedata(Fig.2)forheightbyagereflectsgeneticdifferencesbetweenthetrees,

variationsinthequalityofsilvicultureandtherangeofsiteconditionsatwhichthesedatawerecollected.ARichards'functiondescribedover90%ofthevariationintherelationshipbetweenageandheight(Table4).Diameterismore

stronglyinfluencedbygrowingspacethanheightandacrossthestandsthatprovidedthehistoricdata,differencesininitialspacingandsubsequentmortalityhadresultedinawiderangeofgrowingspace.Thisvariationandthesmall

numberofrecordsofDBHmademodellingtherelationshipbetweenheightanddiameterimprecise.Tonarrowtherangeofgrowingspace,onlydatafromstandswithinitialstockingofbetween1200and2500treesha−1wereused.

Fig.3showstheresultsbasedonmeandatafrom15differentmeasurementsandalinearfunctionexplained84%ofthevariation(Table4).

Combiningtheage:heightcurve,theDBH:heightcurveandtheAFOCELvolumefunction,stemvolumegrowthwaspredicted(Fig.4)overtwentyyears.Thisperiodwasusedfortworeasons:itisclosetothepredicted15year

rotationforE.gunniigrownforbiomass[19]andfortheseunthinnedstandsthatprovidedthedata,competitionwasprobablynotoverlyintense,providingsomeindicationofpotentialyieldofmanagedstands.Thevolumegrowth

curvegaveastandingstemvolumeof320m3ha−1at20yearsofage,givingameanannualincrementof16m3ha−1y−1oranestimateddrymassincrementof8Mgha−1y−1.Growthofthesetreeswasconsiderablyslowerthanthe

intensivelymanagedstandsinFrance,wherevolumesof200m3ha−1areachievedin12years[14],comparedwitharound16yearsfromtheBritishstands(Table5andFig.4).

Itisclearfromthedataminingexercisethatthereisconsiderablevariationingrowthbetweentreeswithinstandsandalsobetweenstandsatdifferentlocationsandgrownunderdifferentintensitiesofsilviculture.Assuch,

theresultsfromthisstudyrepresentafirstandhighlygeneralisedattemptatcharacterisingE.gunniigrowthunderBritishconditions,basedonalimitedamountofdata.Atsites,suchasDaneshill(Nottinghamshire)andtheNew

Forest(Hampshire)aheightof10mhasbeenachievedat5or6yearsofage.Daneshillwastheonlysitewhereintensivesilviculturewaspracticed,andtheintensiveestablishmentmethodsused,suchasplantingthetreesthrough

biodegradableplasticsheeting,atechniquetoinhibitweedcompetitionandtheuseofhighnitrogensewagesludgeasabiofertiliserarelikelytoexplaintherapidgrowth.Atothersites,wheremoreconventionalestablishmentwas

practiced,suchasatthemorenortherlyoneatGlenbranterthesameheightwasonlyreachedintenyears.

4.1CritiqueofthemethodsThisstudyrepresentsthefirstcharacterisationofgrowthofE.gunniiintheUKandenablesabroadcomparisonwithothertreespeciessuitedtobiomassproduction.Thestudyhascollatedallhistoricdatathatwasavailable,

fromanumberofsourcesandsorepresentsthebestinformationcurrentlyavailable.Itisacknowledgedthatthesedatarepresentedrelativelyfewsites,butthattheyshowedareasonabledistributionacrosstheUK(Fig.1).Eachsite

alsoprovidedonlyalimitedamountofchronologicaldataandthatthereweremoredatafortreeheightandfurthermoretheanalysisofDBHdatawascomplicatedbytherangeofspacingemployedacrosstheplantings.Toreducethis

variation,datafromarestrictedrangeofspacingwasusedtodeterminetherelationshipbetweenDBHandheight.ShouldE.gunniibemoreextensivelyplantedintheUKitisrecommendedthatpermanentgrowthplotsbeestablished

acrosstherangeofsiteswhereitisestablishedtoobtainachronologicalseriesofdataandtodeterminedifferencesingrowthduetoclimate,soilsandotherfactors.

4.2WiderimplicationsofthefindingsOnwarmersites,eucalyptsingeneralandE.gunniispecificallyoffertheopportunitytorapidlygrowwoodybiomassovershortrotations.Kerr[20]recognisedthepotentialanddescribedeucalyptsandNothofagusspp.asthe

fastestgrowinggroupsoftreesintheUK.Thisstudysupportshisobservations;atDaneshillinNottinghamshire,standsofE.gunniiachievedaheightofover10matfiveandahalfyearsofage,aresultofintensiveestablishmentusing

completecultivationandtheuseofaplasticmulchtocontrolweedcompetitionandsewagesludgeasanitrogenrichfertiliser.However,ittookmorethantenyearsfortreestoreachthesameheightatGlenbranter,acoldersitein

southwestScotlandandwhereestablishmenttechniqueswerelessintensive(Table3).Currently,predictingtheinfluenceoffactorssuchassiteandestablishmenttechniquesongrowthisimprecise,forexampletreesatThoresby

EstateinNottinghamshirewererelativelyneglected,yetgrewrapidlyattainingaheightofover16min10years.However,normallyhighratesofgrowthareobtainedwhenE.gunniiisplantedonappropriatesitesinconjunctionwith

intensivesilviculture.

HighmortalityofE.gunniiinmanyplantingshashadamajorimpactonpotentialproductivityandifplantedonagreaterscalethensitesunsuitableforE.gunniineedtobeidentified.InthemidPyrennesinFranceazonationof

sitesbyclimateandsoilswasdevelopedtopredicttheriskofcolddamagetoE.gunniiandE.gundal[21].AcrossFrance,fourzonesweredefinedintermsofthesuitabilityofclimateandsoils,basedontolerableminimumthresholdsof

mid-wintertemperaturesandtheriskoflimeinducedchlorosis.Zonationwasbasedontheaveragenumberofdayswhenminimummid-wintertemperaturesof-12°CforE.gundaland-18°CforE.gunniiwereexceeded.Asimilar

approachcouldbeadoptedtoidentifysitesappropriateforplantingE.gunniiintheUK,whichcouldfollowthatofthemapsproducedforNothofagusnervosainHardcastle[19].Theriskofhighmortalityofeucalyptswouldbefurther

reducedbytheuseofgeneticmaterialthatwaswelladaptedtoUKconditions.

E.gunniiisknownasbeingparticularlycoldhardybutisnotthemostproductiveeucalyptspeciesgrownintheUK.Italsohaspoorstemformanditsfoliageispalatable,increasingthepotentialofdamagefrombrowsing.

HoweveronsuitablesitesproductivitywillbehigherthanmostnativeornaturalisedtreesandafurtherjustificationforplantingE.gunniiisthedrivetobroadentherangeoftreesspeciesplantedinproductionforestryintheUK[22].

Results fromhistoricand recent trialplantingsand indicate thatother speciesof eucalypts canbe successfullygrown inwarmerpartsof theUK.ForexampleEucalyptusglaucescens, that offers lower cold tolerance but greater

productivity,betterstemformandislesspronetodamagebybrowsingmammals[23].

5ConclusionTherelativecoldhardinessofE.gunniioffersanopportunitytogrowEucalyptusacrossawiderrangeofsitesthanispossiblewithotherEucalyptusspecies.ThesmallareaofplantingofE.gunniiintheUKandalackoftime

seriesdatamakespredictinggrowthratesdifficultforspecificsites.Itisclearhoweverthatoncertainsiteshighyieldsofwoodystembiomassof8Mgha−1y−1ormorearepossiblefromE.gunnii intheUK,butthatithasbeen

inconsistentlyachievedinpractice.ThegrowthatDaneshillprovidesevidenceofthebenefitsofintensivesilvicultureanditrecommendedthatsimilarestablishmentpracticesbeadoptedifproductivityistobemaximised.Toensure

goodsurvivalandeffectivesitecaptureitisalsorecommendedthatplantingbeconfinedtowarmerareasintheUKuntilabetterunderstandingofsitesuitabilityisachieved.WhileE.gunniiisnotaspeciesthatwillbewidelyplanted

duetothecold,itcanextendtherangeoftreespeciesavailableforplantingforbiomass.

AcknowledgementsThisstudycouldnothavebeencompletedwithoutthehelpofmanypeople.DrRichardJinkskindlyprovidedallfilesofexperimentsusingE.gunniiatForestResearch,whileTedWoodisseWooddisseprovided

datafromthetrialsestablishedatDaneshillbyNottinghamshireCountyCouncil.SiteinformationonGlanbranterwaskindlysuppliedbyFraserMacDonaldofForestryCommissionScotland.Wewouldalsoliketo

thankthetwoanonymousreviewersfortheirconstructivecommentsandDrJamesMorisonofForestResearchforcommentsonanearlierdraftofthepaper.Finallytheauthorswouldliketoacknowledgefundingfor

someoftheworkfromtheUniversityofCumbria'sResearch,ScholarshipandDevelopmentFund.

AppendixA.SupplementarydataSupplementarydatarelatedtothisarticlecanbefoundathttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2017.10.037.

References[1]L.J.SheppardandG.R.Cannell,FrosthardinessofsubalpineeucalyptsinBritain,Forestry60(2),1987,239–248.

[2]T.BoothandL.Pryor,Climaticrequirementsofsomecommerciallyimportanteucalyptspecies,For.Ecol.Manag.43,1991,47–60.

[3]J.G.Purse,UnitedKingdom.Eucalyptusgunnii–thepioneerAustraliantreeinBritain,Aust.Plants25(205),2010,376–382.

[4]J.Evans,Are-assessmentofcold-hardyeucalyptsinGreatBritain,Forestry59(2),1986,223–242.

[5]M.Cope,A.D.LeslieandA.Weatherall,ThepotentialsuitabilityofprovenancesofEucalyptusgunniiforshortrotationforestryintheUK,Q.J.For.102(3),2008,185–194.

[6]AFOCEL,Eucalyptus:35ansd'experimentationdanslesuddelaFrance.InformationsForet,No2–2007,FicheNo747,2007,AFOCEL;France.

[7]G.KerrandJ.Evans,Eucalyptsforshortrotationforestry:acasestudyforthe1980s,Q.J.For.105(2),2011,109–117.

[8]T.Wooddisse,PersonalCommunication.EmailTitledDaneshillData,June2012.

[9]C.J.BennettandA.D.Leslie,AssessmentofaEucalyptusprovenancetrialatThetfordandimplicationsforEucalyptusasabiomasscropinlowlandBritain,Q.J.For.96,2003,257–264.

[10]A.D.Leslie,M.MencucciniandM.P.Perks,GrowthandSurvivalofprovenancesofsnowgums(Eucalyptuspauciflora)andotherhardyeucalyptsatthreetrialsinEngland,Scott.For.67(2),2013,30–39.

[11]M.ForrestandT.Moore,Eucalyptusgunnii:apossiblesourceofbioenergy?Shortcommunication,BiomassBioenerg32(10),2008,978–980.

[12]C.P.Mitchell,J.B.Ford-RobertsonandM.P.Waters,EstablishmentandMonitoringofLargeScaleTrialsofShortRotationCoppiceforEnergy.WoodSupplyResearchGroup,1993,DepartmentofForestry,UniversityofAberdeen.

[13]C.J.Potter,CoppicedTreesasEnergyCrops.FinalReporttotheEnergyTechnologySupportUnitoftheDepartmentofEnergy,ContractE/5A/CON/1078/174/063,1990.

[14]AFOCEL,InformationEucalyptus,Itinerairetechniqueetproduction.FicheInformationEucalyptusNo.2-Avril2003,2003,AFOCEL;France.

QueriesandAnswersQuery:Pleasecheckwhetherthedesignatedcorrespondingauthoriscorrect,andamendifnecessary.Answer:Thecorrespondingauthoriscorrect

Query:Thecountrynamehasbeeninsertedforthe[a,c]affiliations.Pleasecheckalltheaffiliation,andcorrectifnecessary.Answer:Theyarecorrect

Query:Highlightsshouldonlyconsistof"125"charactersperbulletpoint,includingspaces.Thehighlightsprovidedaretoolong;pleaseeditthemtomeettherequirement.Answer:Theyhavebeeneditedtoconformtothecharacterlimit

[15]FCBA,Elaborationd'unmodeledecroissancepourl'Eucalyptusgundal,2012,InstitutTechnologique;Cesras,France.

[16]B.Zeide,Analysisofgrowthequations,For.Sci.39(3),1993,594–616.

[17]S.B.Devaranavadgi,S.Bassappa,R.B.Jolli,S.Y.WaliandA.N.Bagali,Height-agecurvemodellingfordifferenttreespeciesinthedrylandsofnorthKarnataka,Glob.JSci.Front.Res,AgricVetSci.13(1),2013,[online]Lastaccessedon29June2013atURLhttps://globaljournals.org/GJSFR_Volume13/3-Height-Age-Growth-Curve-Modelling.pdf.

[18]AFOCEL,InformationEucalyptus,Presentationgeneraledel’eucalyptus.FicheInformationEucalyptusNo.1–Septembre2003,2003,AFOCEL;France.

[19]P.D.Hardcastle,Areviewoftheimpactsofshort-rotationforestry,LTSInt.2006,[online]Lastaccessedon27June2007http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/SRFFinalreport27Feb.pdf/$FILE/SRFFinalreport27Feb.pdf.

[20]G.Kerr,AReviewofthegrowth,yieldandbiomassdistributionofspeciesplantedintheenglishnetworktrialsofshortrotationforestry,In:H.McKay,(Ed),ShortRotationForestry:ReviewofGrowthandEnvironmentalImpacts,ForestResearchMonograph,2,ForestResearch,Surrey,2013,2011,135–164.

[21]FCBA,Propositiondezonagepédoclimatiquepourl’implantationdel’eucalyptusenFrance,FCBAInfo,January2010,2010,FCBAInstitutTechnologique;Cesras,France.

[22]DEFRA,GovernmentForestryandWoodlandPolicyStatementIncorporatingtheGovernment'sResponsetotheIndependentPanelonForestry'sFinalReport,2013,DEFRA;London.

[23]J.PurseandA.D.Leslie,Eucalyptus–Part1,specieswithforestrypotentialintheBritishIsles,Q.J.For.110(2),2016,88–97.

AppendixA.SupplementarydataThefollowingisthesupplementarydatarelatedtothisarticle:

MultimediaComponent1

Supplementarymaterial (Pleasesubstitutetheoriginalsupplementarymaterialsfilewiththeoneattached.)

alt-text:Supplementarymaterial

Highlights

• HistoricgrowthofE.gunniiindicatedyieldsof16m3ha−1y−1or8Mgha−1y−1over20yearrotations.

• Yieldwashighlyvariableacrosssitesbutitislikelythatintensivesilvicultureincreasesyields.

• Untilthereisabetterunderstandingoftheclimaticlimitstosurvivalandgrowthplantingshouldfocusonsiteswithlowriskoffrost·Untilclimaticlimitstosurvivalandgrowtharebetterunderstood,plantingshouldbeonsiteswith

lowriskoffrost..

Query:Pleaseconfirmthatgivennamesandsurnameshavebeenidentifiedcorrectlyandarepresentedinthedesiredorderandpleasecarefullyverifythespellingofallauthors’names.Answer:Yes

Query:Yourarticleisregisteredasaregularitemandisbeingprocessedforinclusioninaregularissueofthejournal.IfthisisNOTcorrectandyourarticlebelongstoaSpecialIssue/Collectionpleasecontactv.natarajan.2@elsevier.comimmediatelypriortoreturningyourcorrections.Answer:Yes