Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Chloride content and biomass partitioning in Eucalyptus hybrids grown on saline sites

  • Published:
New Forests Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Eucalyptus camaldulensis × globulus and E. camaldulensis × grandis hybrids have been developed to combine the salt–waterlogging tolerance and high-quality wood fibre of their respective parents. The aim is to develop trees that will grow in relatively dry and/or saline environments and provide commercial wood products. Previous studies indicate that the hybrids exhibit faster growth than either of their pure species parents, and that there are significant differences in growth rates between them. We undertook a comparative study of the partitioning of above-ground biomass (AGB) to examine biomass and chloride (Cl) allocation of trees growing on two saline-irrigated sites in south-eastern Australia. Eucalyptus camaldulensis × globulus had a higher proportion of AGB in leaves (20–29% cf. 15–16%), and lower proportion in live branches (3–10% cf. 6–14%) than E. camaldulensis × grandis. The concentration of Cl was highest in the stembark (4.2–9.6 g kg−1) and lowest in the stemwood (0.6–2.0 g kg−1), suggesting that trees can export Cl through bark shedding. Total Cl content was strongly related to volume under bark (R2 = 0.99), and differences in partitioning of Cl into tree components differed between the hybrids in the same way as AGB. Preferential partitioning of Cl to live branches rather than foliage in E. camaldulensis × grandis suggests that this hybrid may be compartmentalising Cl to reduce the risk of Cl toxicity in the leaves.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akilan K, Farrell RCC, Bell DT, Marshall JK (1997) Responses of clonal river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) to waterlogging by fresh and salt water. Aust J Exp Agric 37:243–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen JA, Chambers JL, Stine M (1994) Prospects for increasing the salt tolerance of forest trees: a review. Tree Physiol 14:843–853

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Almeida AC, Landsberg JJ, Sands PJ (2004) Parameterisation of 3-PG model for fast-growing Eucalyptus grandis plantations. For Ecol Manage 193:179–195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandara G, Sasse J, Hopmans P (2002) Nutrient status of the XylonovA hybrids under saline irrigation at Mt Scobie at age 3 years. Forest Science Centre Report 2002/019 (unpublished) prepared as part of the 2001/02 NRE–Forest Science Centre Private Forestry Research and Development Service Agreement

  • Bell DT (1999) Australian trees for the rehabilitation of waterlogged and salinity-damaged landscapes. Aust J Bot 47:697–716

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collopy J, Morris J (2002) Biomass of Eucalyptus camaldulensis and E. occidentalis at Whiteheads Creek, Victoria. Progress Report (unpublished) prepared as part of the 2001/02 NRE–Forest Science Centre Private Forestry Research and Development Service Agreement

  • Dale G, Dieters M (2007) Economic returns from environmental problems: breeding salt- and drought-tolerant eucalypts for salinity abatement and commercial forestry. Ecol Eng 31:175–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dale GT, Aitken KS, Sasse JM (2000) Development of salt tolerant E . camaldulensis × E. grandis hybrid clones using phenotypic selection and genetic mapping, pp 227–233. In: Dungey HS, Dieters MJ, Nikles DG (eds) Proceedings of CRC-SPF/QFRI symposium on hybrid breeding and genetics, 9–14 April 2000, Noosa, Queensland, Australia, Department of Primary Industries, Brisbane

  • Dale G, Sasse J, Hamilton M, Batey T, George B (2001) Commercial plantations for waterlogged and saline land. Are trees worth a pinch of salt? In: Proceedings of productive use and rehabilitation of saline land, 20–23 March 2001, Launceston, Tasmania

  • Dale G, Silberstein R, Dawes W, Morris J, Collopy J (2008) Sustainable management of salt-tolerant eucalypt hybrids: modelling growth and salt on saline discharge sites. Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Canberra, Publication No 08/120, 103 p

  • Dell B, Malajczuk N, Grove TS (1995) Nutrient disorders in plantation Eucalypts. ACIAR Monograph 31

  • Duncan MJ, Baker TG, Stackpole DJ, Hopmans P, Morris JD, Wall GC (1998) Sustainability of disposal of municipal effluents to tree plantations. Progress Report (unpublished) prepared for NRE as part of the 1997/98 NRE–Centre for Forest Tree Technology Research and Development Service Agreement, and for the Goulburn Valley Region Water Authority under the CFTT–GVRWA 1997/98–1999/00 Memorandum of Understanding

  • Edwards IK, Kalra YP, Radford FG (1981) Chloride determination and levels in the soil–plant environment. Environ Pollut (Series B) 2:109–117

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Feikema PM, Baker TG (2011) Effect of soil salinity on the growth of irrigated plantation Eucalyptus in south-eastern Australia. Agric Water Manage 98:1180–1188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feikema PM, Morris JD, Connell LD (2010) The water balance and water sources of a Eucalyptus plantation over shallow saline groundwater. Plant Soil 332:429–449

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gilliam JW (1971) Rapid measurement of chlorine in plant materials. Proc Soil Sci Soc Am 35:512–513

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenway H, Munns R (1980) Mechanisms of salt tolerance in non-halophytes. Ann Rev Plant Physiol 31:149–190

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Greenwood EAN (1986) Water use by trees and shrubs for lowering saline groundwater. Reclam Reveg Res 5:423–434

    Google Scholar 

  • Hatton TJ, Reece PH, Taylor PJ, McEwan KL (1998) Does leaf water efficiency vary among Eucalypts in water-limited environments? Tree Physiol 18:529–536

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hutchison MF, Nix AA, Houlder DJ, McMahon JP (1999) ANUCLIM version 1.8 user guide. Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, The Australian National University

  • Johnston EJ (1952) Soils of Deniboota irrigation district and their classification for irrigation. Soil and Land Use Series No. 5, CSIRO Division of Soils, Melbourne

  • Lambert MJ, Turner J (2000) Commercial forest plantations on saline lands. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne

    Google Scholar 

  • Marcar NE (1993) Waterlogging modifies growth, water use and ion concentrations in seedlings of salt-treated Eucalyptus camaldulensis, E. tereticornis, E. robusta and E. globulus. Aust J Plant Physiol 20:1–13

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Marcar NE, Termaat A (1990) Effects of root-zone solutes on Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Eucalyptus bicostata seedlings: responses to Na+, Mg2+ and Cl–. Plant Soil 125:245–254

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • May FE, Ash JE (1990) An assessment of the allelopathic potential of Eucalyptus. Aust J Bot 38:245–254

    Google Scholar 

  • Meddings RLA, McComb JA, Bell DT (2001) The salt–waterlogging tolerance of Eucalyptus camaldulensis × E. globulus hybrids. Aust J Exp Agric 41:787–792

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morris JD (1984) Establishment of trees and shrubs on a saline site using drip irrigation. Aust For 47:210–217

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris JD, Thompson LAJ (1983) The role of trees in dryland salinity control. Proc R Soc Vic 9:123–131

    Google Scholar 

  • Munns R, Tester M (2008) Mechanisms of salinity tolerance. Ann Rev Plant Biol 59:651–681

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Myers BJ, Benyon RG, Theiveyanathan S, Criddle RS, Smith CJ, Falkiner RA (1998) Response of effluent-irrigated Eucalyptus grandis and Pinus radiata to salinity and vapour pressure deficits. Tree Physiol 18:565–573

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • National Land and Water Resources Audit (2001) Australian dryland salinity assessment 2000: extent, impacts, processes, monitoring and management options. Land and Water Australia, Canberra

    Google Scholar 

  • Niknam SR, McComb JA (2000) Salt tolerance screening of selected Australian woody species—a review. For Ecol Manage 139:1–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oddie RLA (1996) Eucalyptus globulus × camaldulensis hybrids for saline land: production, seedling growth and salt/waterlogging tolerance. PhD Thesis, Murdoch University, Australia

  • Ona T, Sonoda T, Ito K, Shibat M, Tamai Y, Kojimo Y (1996) Use of the radially divided increment core method to assess pulpwood quality for eucalypt breeding in E. camaldulensis and E. globulus. Appita 49:325–331

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pook EW, Gill AM, Moore PHR (1997) Long-term variation of litter fall, canopy leaf area and flowering in a Eucalyptus maculata forest on the south coast of New South Wales. Aust J Bot 45:737–755

    Google Scholar 

  • Potts BM, Dungey HS (2004) Interspecific hybridization of Eucalyptus: key issues for breeders and geneticists. New For 27:115–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers AL (1985) Foliar salt in Eucalyptus species. Aust For Res 15:9–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Sands R (1981) Salt resistance in Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehn. from three different seed sources. Aust For Res 11:93–100

    Google Scholar 

  • Sasse J, Hopmans P (2001) Foliar sampling of the XylonovA hybrids at Mt Scobie, Winter 2000 Progress Report. NRE–Centre for Forest Tree Technology Report 2001/024 (unpublished) prepared as part of the 2000/01 NRE–CFTT Private Forestry Research and Development Service Agreement

  • Sasse J, George B, Dale G (2000) The XylonovA hybrid field trials: clonally replicated family trials for verification of QTL analysis and hybrid testing, pp 482–486. In: Dungey HS, Dieters MJ, Nikles DG (eds) Proceedings of CRC–SPF/QFRI symposium on hybrid breeding and genetics, 9–14 April 2000, Noosa, Queensland, Australia. Department of Primary Industries, Brisbane

  • Schofield NJ, Loh IC, Scott PR, Bartle JR, Ritson P, Bell RW, Borg H, Anson B, Moore R (1989) Vegetation strategies to reduce stream salinities of water resource catchments in south-west Western Australia. Water Authority of Western Australia. Report No. WS33

  • Skene JKM, Poutsma TJ (1962) Soils and land use in part of the Goulburn Valley, Victoria, comprising the Rodney, Tongala–Stanhope, North Shepparton and South Shepparton Irrigation Areas. Technical Bulletin No. 14. Department of Agriculture, Victoria, Australia

  • Slatyer RO (1966) Some physical aspects of internal control of leaf transpiration. Agric Meteorol 3:281–292

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Specht RL, Rundel PW (1990) Sclerophylly and foliar nutrient status of Mediterranean-climate plant communities in southern Australia. Aust J Bot 38:459–474

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van der Moezel PG, Bell DT (1990) Saltland reclamation: selection of superior Australian tree genotypes for discharge sites. Proc Ecol Soc Aust 16:545–549

    Google Scholar 

  • van der Moezel PG, Watson LE, Bell DT (1989) Gas exchange responses of two Eucalyptus species to salinity and waterlogging. Tree Physiol 5:251–257

    Google Scholar 

  • Vertessy RA, Connell LD, Morris JD, Silberstein RP, Heuperman AF, Feikema PM, Mann L, Komarzynski M, Collopy JJ, Stackpole D (2000) Sustainable hardwood production in shallow watertable areas. Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Land and Water Research and Development Corporation, Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Corporation

  • Warton DI, Wright IJ, Falster DS (2006) Bivariate line-fitting methods for allometry. Biol Rev 81:259–291

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Whitehead D, Beadle CL (2004) Physiological regulation of productivity and water use in Eucalyptus: a review. For Ecol Manage 193:113–140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson JR, Haydock KP, Robins MF (1970) The development in time of stress effects in two species of glycine differing in sensitivity to salt. Aust J Biol Sci 23:537–551

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zirska LH, DeJong TM, Hoffman GF, Mead RM (1991) Sodium and chloride distribution in salt-stressed Prunus salicina, a deciduous tree species. Tree Physiol 8:47–57

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment and the former CRC for Plant Based Management of Dryland Salinity. The competent assistance of Richard Stokes, Don Oswin and Samantha Whitelaw with biomass sampling is gratefully acknowledged. Gabi Szegedy prepared and processed samples for chemical analysis. Michael Duncan and John Collopy kindly provided biomass data for the studies conducted at Shepparton and Whiteheads Creek respectively. The longstanding support of the landholders Lewis Watson (Mt Scobie) and Don Douglas (Caldwell) for these trials and associated activities has been invaluable. We thank the late Jim Morris for comments on an earlier draft. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive input. We dedicate this paper to the memory of Richard Stokes, a tireless and highly committed field technician whose expertise and good humour is greatly missed.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Joanna M. Sasse

    Present address: Sassafras Group, 2 O’Farrell St, Yarraville, VIC, 3013, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forest and Ecosystem Science, The University of Melbourne, 221 Bouverie St, Carlton, VIC, 3053, Australia

    Paul M. Feikema

  2. Department of Sustainability and Environment, Heidelberg, VIC, 3084, Australia

    Joanna M. Sasse & Gamini D. Bandara

  3. Cooperative Research Centre for Plant-Based Management of Dryland Salinity, Perth, WA, Australia

    Paul M. Feikema

Authors
  1. Paul M. Feikema
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Joanna M. Sasse
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Gamini D. Bandara
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paul M. Feikema.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Feikema, P.M., Sasse, J.M. & Bandara, G.D. Chloride content and biomass partitioning in Eucalyptus hybrids grown on saline sites. New Forests 43, 89–107 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-011-9268-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-011-9268-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation