Durable eucalypts
Please note: Some of these reports are restricted access.
- 2024 Eucalyptus stake assessment results
- Access: unrestricted.
December 2024
Group no. Tree Species Index of Condition 1 8 years, 1 month exposure 1 1 E. bosistoana 6.3 2 2 E. bosistoana 7.0 3 3 E. bosistoana…
- Variation in adaptability and productivity between durable eucalypt species in different New Zealand environments
SWP-T164 - Access: unrestricted.
August 2023
This report summarises early results from a total of 14 demonstration trials implemented by the NZDFI established across North Island regions and those in Marlborough, Nelson and North Canterbury. The…
- Developing fully compatible taper and volume equations for all stem components of Eucalyptus globoidea Blakely trees in New Zealand
SWP-T134 - Access: unrestricted.
July 2023
Background: Individual-tree taper and volume equations are essential for forest management. They provide estimates of volume that are incorporated into plot-level volume equations and also into growth and yield models…
- Genetic structure and diversity in the NZDFI Eucalyptus bosistoana and E. argophloia breeding populations
SWP-T168 - Access: unrestricted.
June 2023
This report on SWP Work Plan WP126 is of preliminary nature. It is an unexamined thesis chapter from Seoljong Kim’s PhD thesis, developed at the University of Canterbury under the supervision of…
- Machinability of 28-year-old Eucalyptus globoidea wood
SWP-T155 - Access: unrestricted.
January 2023
This report relates to SWP work plan 131 ‘Wood products from NZDFI species’, milestone 5 ‘Machinability of Eucalyptus globoidea; outdoor demonstration product’. The overall objective was to assess the technical feasibility of…
- Assessment of NZDFI’s 2016 Eucalyptus quadrangulata breeding population at NZRC Paparoa
SWP-T156 - Access: unrestricted.
January 2023
This report concerns the phenotyping of NZDFI’s E. quadrangulata 2016 breeding population at NZRC Paparoa for heartwood and predicted extractive content. Heartwood diameter was not genetically correlated to tree DBH but negatively to…
- Assessment of Eucalyptus globoidea heartwood at Avery
SWP-T157 - Access: unrestricted.
January 2023
The second (Avery) of three E. globoidea breeding trials has been phenotyped for heartwood properties. The results are comparable to the assessment of the previous E. globoidea trial at Atkinson. The data has been…
- Genetic variation in collapse and other wood properties of Eucalyptus quadrangulata at mid-rotation age
SWP-T152 - Access: unrestricted.
November 2022
This report is a draft chapter of Vikash Ghildiyal’s PhD thesis exploring genetic and technological solutions to reduce collapse in eucalyptus timbers. In this chapter 2 NZDFI E. quadrangulata breeding trials have been…
- Eucalyptus resistance to paropsine beetles
SWP-T140 - Access: unrestricted.
June 2022
A wide range of insect herbivores infest Eucalyptus trees in New Zealand, particularly insects native to Australia. The most damaging defoliators are the paropsine beetles. Paropsis charybdis and Paropsisterna cloelia (EVB). In 2019, EVB was present…
- Assessment of NZDFI’s 2011 Eucalyptus quadrangulata breeding populations
SWP-T144 - Access: unrestricted.
February 2022
This report concerns the phenotyping of NZDFI’s 2011 E. quadrangulata breeding populations at McNeil and Cuddon for heartwood. Genetic analysis of the trials was hampered by the small number of families (~20). Larger E. quadrangulata breeding…
- Assessment of Eucalyptus globoidea heartwood at Ngaumu
SWP-T142 - Access: unrestricted.
December 2021
The third (JNL Ngaumu) of three E. globoidea breeding trials has been phenotyped for heartwood properties (Milestone M10 Workplan SWP-WP130). The results were comparable to the assessment of the previous E. globoidea trials at…
- Techno-economic analysis of veneers & posts from specialty wood species (durable eucalypts)
SWP-T126 - Access: unrestricted.
August 2021
This report was commissioned by the Specialty Wood Products Research Partnership and is aimed at assessing the potential for making durable eucalypt posts and veneers from a durable eucalypt crop, E.…
- Techno-economic analysis of posts from specialty wood species and radiata pine
SWP-T127- - Access: unrestricted.
August 2021
The volume of post and pole grade logs cut from New Zealand plantation forests is in the order of 400,000 cubic metres per annum. Some of this material goes to…
- Assessment of Eucalyptus globoidea heartwood at Avery
SWP-T131- - Access: unrestricted.
August 2021
The second (Avery) of three E. globoidea breeding trials has been phenotyped for heartwood properties. The results are comparable to the assessment of the previous E. globoidea trial at Atkinson. The data has been…
- Assessing heartwood in E. bosistoana cores from NIR hyperimages
SWP-T124 - Access: unrestricted.
July 2021
Assessing heartwood quality with current technology in a research context is resource intensive and not feasible in a commercial setting. NIR imaging has the potential to remotely assess heartwood quality…
- Feasibility trials - peeling posts of durable eucalypts
SWP-T123 - Access: unrestricted.
June 2021
Background The NZDFI aims to establish a ground-durable eucalypt resource under a short rotation regime to produce pole wood for use as agricultural posts (Millen et al., 2020; Millen et…
- Recommended sampling intensity for phenotyping durable eucalypt breeding trials for heartwood quality
SWP-T121 - Access: unrestricted.
March 2021
The available heartwood quantity (diameter at 0.5 m stem height) and heartwood quality (NIR predicted extractive content) for ten NZDFI breeding trials was analysed with the intention to optimise sampling…
- Assessment of NZDFI Eucalyptus quadrangulata Breeding Populations
SWP-T120 - Access: unrestricted.
January 2021
The objective of the NZDFI breeding programme is to define and then exploit the variation in selected traits by identifying and advancing superior families in the breeding populations. E. quadrangulata…
- Eucalyptus resistance to paropsine beetles
SWP-T118 - Access: unrestricted.
December 2020
A wide range of insects can infest Eucalyptus trees in New Zealand, particularly pest insects that are native to Australia. Australian paropsine beetles are significant pests in New Zealand where climatic conditions…
- Analysis of the treated wood market for agricultural and horticultural uses in New Zealand
SWP-T114 - Access: unrestricted.
December 2020
This study analysed the treated wood market for agricultural and horticultural uses in New Zealand. Treated wood refers to fence posts for stock and crops, kiwifruit pergolas, vineyards posts and…
- The decay resistance of six Eucalyptus species after four years exposure
SWP-T111 - Access: Executive. This SWP report shall at all times be kept confidential and not directly or indirectly be made available to anyone who is not an SWP member.
November 2020
Durability stakes and stakelets were prepared from six different durable Eucalyptus species, (Eucalyptus bosistoana, Eucalyptus quadrangulata, Eucalyptus pilularis, Eucalyptus sphaerocarpa, Eucalyptus globoidea, Eucalyptus muelleriana). For each species, timber had been…
- Heartwood in Eucalyptus bosistoana (JNL Ngaumu 2012 trial)
SWP-T108 - Access: unrestricted.
November 2020
The ultimate goal of NZDFI breeding programme is to exploit variation in quantity and quality of extractive content to identify superior families in terms of heartwood content and quality. The…
- Forest Protection SSIF research on species other than radiata pine 2019/20
SWP-T102 - Access: unrestricted.
July 2020
Plantation species other than Pinus radiata (radiata pine), such as Douglas-fir and eucalypts, form an important part of a diversified forest estate. Eucalyptus species are planted over approximately 27,000 ha and contribute ~$40 million…
- Value of veneer, wood fibre and posts from improved Eucalyptus bosistoana trees
SWP-T101 - Access: unrestricted.
June 2020
E. bosistoana produces high stiffness veneers, which could be used by New Zealand’s existing LVL industry to produce an internationally competitive product. Entry barriers are low as existing manufacturing facilities can be utilised…
- Preliminary juvenile height yield models for three durable Eucalyptus species by integrating site-specific factors
SWP-T094 - Access: unrestricted.
February 2020
Juvenile height growth models are useful to get an indication and understanding of site-species matching and initial decision making. Furthermore, juvenile height yield models are rare especially from sparsely available…
- Assessment of E. globoidea wood properties at Atkinson
SWP-T092 - Access: unrestricted.
February 2020
While growth characteristics of E. globoidea compare favourably to other eucalypt species in the NZDFI programme, its wood properties in particular natural durability (class 2), ease of drying and to some degree…
- Bonding of E. bosistoana and E. quadrangulata veneer
SWP-T091 - Access: NZFFA membership. This SWP report shall at all times be kept confidential and not directly or indirectly be made available to anyone who is not an SWP member.
November 2019
Aim of this work: To determine if two standard Hexion commercial phenolic resins will bond the E. bosistoana or E. quadrangulata veneer. Previous Hexion work has shown poor bonds with…
- A population-genomic and taxonomic study of Eucalyptus argophloia and E. bosistoana
SWP-T089 - Access: unrestricted.
December 2019
The New Zealand Dryland Forests Initiative (NZDFI) aims to create plantations of high-value Eucalyptus timber species in dry environments on the east coast of New Zealand. This would enable the sustainable production…
- Non-destructive detection of the heartwood-sapwood barrier
SWP-T088 - Access: NZFFA membership. This SWP report shall at all times be kept confidential and not directly or indirectly be made available to anyone who is not an SWP member.
September 2019
This study examined the feasibility of using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging to identify the heartwood-sapwood barrier in trees (Eucalyptus globoidea, Eucalyptus bosistoana and Cupressus ovensii). The dielectric properties measured of…
- The decay resistance of six Eucalyptus species after three years exposure
SWP-T085 - Access: Executive. This SWP report shall at all times be kept confidential and not directly or indirectly be made available to anyone who is not an SWP member.
August 2019
Durability stakes and stakelets were prepared from six different durable Eucalyptus species, (Eucalyptus bosistoana, Eucalyptus quadrangulata, Eucalyptus pilularis, Eucalyptus sphaerocarpa, Eucalyptus globoidea, Eucalyptus muelleriana). For each species, timber had been selected…
- Minimising growth-strain in eucalypts to transform processing
SWP-T087 - Access: unrestricted.
June 2019
A four-year MPI Sustainable Farming Fund project 407602 was undertaken at the University of Canterbury School of Forestry (2015-2019). The driver for the project was the perceived opportunity for high-stiffness…
- Forest Protection SSIF research on species other than radiata pine 2018/19
SWP-T081 - Access: NZFFA membership. This SWP report shall at all times be kept confidential and not directly or indirectly be made available to anyone who is not an SWP member.
June 2019
Plantation species other than Pinus radiata (radiata pine), in particular Douglas-fir and eucalypts, form an important part of a diversified forest estate. Douglas-fir is planted over approx. 105,000 ha. and is the…
- Assessing the Bending and Density Properties of six Eucalypt Species
SWP-T080 - Access: unrestricted.
June 2019
Small clear bending strength samples were cut from the following 16 year old trees that had already been felled for an earlier SWP durability study. E. bosistoana E. quadrangulata E.…
- Rotary peeling of 15 year old E. bosistoana and E. quadrangulata
SWP-T079 - Access: NZFFA membership. This SWP report shall at all times be kept confidential and not directly or indirectly be made available to anyone who is not an SWP member.
June 2019
It was demonstrated that rotary peeled veneers of good surface quality can be obtained from 15 year old Eucalyptus bosistoana and E. quadrangulata trees grown in New Zealand. The mechanical…
- Susceptibility of Eucalyptus bosistoana families to EVB defoliation across sites and families Feb/March 2019
SWP-T078 - Access: unrestricted.
June 2019
In the absence of a PhD student being secured to continue the durable eucalypt health assessment work in time for the 2018-2019 summer season, Ruth McConnochie was contracted to assess…
- Durable Eucalypts - A Multi-Regional Opportunity for New Zealand’s Drylands
SWP-T076 - Access: unrestricted.
September 2019
Focus Areas and Action/Goals for 2019-2022 The NZDFI has developed this regional strategy to provide a rationale and overview of its planned activities over the next three years and beyond. The…
- Dimensional Stability of Specialty Species (interim report)
SWP-T074 - Access: unrestricted.
May 2019
Dimensional changes caused by changes in wood moisture content (dimensional stability) can have a large impact on how the wood performs in service. Poor dimensional stability can lead to cracking,…
- Heartwood in Eucalyptus bosistoana (2009 plantings)
SWP-T072 - Access: unrestricted.
March 2019
The ultimate goal of the NZDFI breeding programme is to exploit variation in quantity and quality of extractive content to identify superior families in terms of heartwood content and quality.…
- Molecular deformation of wood and cellulose studied by near infrared and Raman spectroscopy
SWP-T071 - Access: Executive.
March 2019
Eucalyptus can be alternative plantation species to radiata pine for New Zealand. One major problem preventing eucalyptus wood from high-value uses is its high growth-stress level, which causes problems in…
- Hybrid growth models for Eucalyptus globoidea and E. bosistoana: Explaining within and between site variability
SWP-T070 - Access: unrestricted.
February 2019
Plantation forests play a major role in satisfying many forestry needs such as demand for wood and different ecosystem services, which are projected to increase in the future. In New…
- Extending durable eucalypt species research by establishing new demonstration trials in 2018
SWP-T069 - Access: unrestricted.
December 2018
While the NZDFI genetic improvement programme is concentrating efforts and resources on a few promising candidates, these and a broader list of species of interest are being evaluated in demonstration…
- Economic impact of eucalyptus tortoise beetle (Paropsis charybdis) in New Zealand
SWP-T067 - Access: unrestricted.
August 2018
A number of tree species in the genus Eucalyptus are grown in New Zealand on a small scale. However, the economic value of this resource is not known. The economic impact of…
- The decay resistance of six Eucalyptus species in stake and stakelet trials after two years exposure
SWP-T066 - Access: Executive. This SWP report shall at all times be kept confidential and not directly or indirectly be made available to anyone who is not an SWP member.
September 2018
Durability stakes and stakelets were prepared from six different durable Eucalyptus species, (Eucalyptus bosistoana, Eucalyptus quadrangulata, Eucalyptus pilularis, Eucalyptus sphaerocarpa, Eucalyptus globoidea, Eucalyptus muelleriana.) For each species timber had been…
- Optimising new PSP locations for durable eucalypts
SWP-T065 - Access: unrestricted.
September 2018
As part of an effort to develop a forest industry based on durable hardwood eucalypts in New Zealand, a network of sample plots for numerous species has been established throughout…
- Core funded aligned research on insects and fungi on species other than radiata pine 2017/2018
SWP-T061 - Access: unrestricted.
June 2018
Plantation species other than Pinus radiata (radiata pine), specifically Douglas-fir and eucalypts, form an important part of a diversified forest estate. Douglas-fir is planted over approx. 105,000 ha. and is the most…
- Bioactivity of Heartwood Compounds
SWP-T060 - Access: Executive.
July 2018
This report is based on work according to SWP Work Plan No. SWP-WP026. The results are part of Gayatri Mishra’s PhD thesis, of which the relevant chapters are attached in…
- LVL Stiffness Calculator User Guide
SWP-T059 - Access: unrestricted.
June 2018
This software is only intended to be used as a decision tool that enables questions to be asked about the potential suitability of a wood resource being able to supply a range of LVL grades.…
- Pre application consultation has begun for a new potential biological control introduction to control Eucalyptus tortoise beetle, Paropsis charybdis
- Access: unrestricted.
June 2018
April, 2018. Background The Farm Forestry Association, and Scion have been collaborating for the last 5 years on a project to get a new biological control agent into New Zealand…
- Eucalyptus variegated beetle creates concern for eucalypt growers
- Access: unrestricted.
May 2018
Annoying Australians are over here and eating ‘our’ eucalypt trees. Seven different tortoise beetles, named because their round bodies resemble a tortoise, have arrived in New Zealand and have been…
- Sapwood Depth Tool – Proof of Principle
SWP-T054 - Access: unrestricted.
June 2018
This research aims to develop a sapwood tool that can determine the sapwood/heartwood interface based on electrical resistance measurements with minimised set-up time. This report shows the first developed lab-based…
- Developing GC methods for analysing the foliar chemistry of durable eucalypts: a potential pest-tolerance screening tool
SWP-T052 - Access: unrestricted.
June 2018
The objective was to develop and test methods (foliage preparation and gas chromatography method development) for assessing the foliar chemistry of durable eucalypt leaves to determine if foliar chemical analysis can…
- NZDFI Biosecurity Risk Management Plan
SWP-T051 - Access: unrestricted.
June 2018
A number of new biological threats to eucalypts have recently become established in New Zealand. NZDFI are particularly concerned about the risk of spreading myrtle rust and EVB (Eucalyptus variegated…
- Heartwood in Eucalyptus bosistoana (2010 plantings)
SWP-T046 - Access: unrestricted.
May 2018
The measurement of natural durability is resource intensive (Harju and Venäläinen, 2006; Li and Altaner, 2016b). High resource demands prevent this trait from being included in breeding programmes. However, the…
- Natural durability: Correlation between extractive content and fungal assay
SWP-T045 - Access: unrestricted.
May 2018
The main objective of this work was to validate if extractive content (EC) predicted by NIR spectroscopy correlated with mass-loss durability measurements. 7 year-old Eucalyptus bosistoana heartwood samples with known EC…
- Durable eucalypt forests – a multi-regional opportunity for investment in New Zealand drylands
SWP-T044 - Access: unrestricted.
May 2018
We believe our vision for the establishment of a durable eucalypt plantation estate is a unique opportunity to add value to New Zealand’s current forest industry. With our elite breeding…
- LVL Trial: Pre-Harvest Stand Assessment
SWP-T042 - Access: unrestricted.
February 2018
Two trials located in Marlborough have been assessed as a potential source of peeler logs to carry out a peeler study. The trials are: E. bosistoana trial planted in 2003…
- Durable eucalypt forests: A multi-regional opportunity for investment in NZ drylands
SWP-T041 - Access: unrestricted.
February 2018
This consultation paper is the first step in a process to develop the New Zealand Dryland Forests Initiative (NZDFI) regional strategic plan, focusing on the establishment of durable eucalypt forests…
- Prediction of Extractive Content of Eucalyptus globoidea Heartwood Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy
SWP-T040 - Access: unrestricted.
November 2017
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Forestry Science BForSc (Hons) Abstract Natural durability of wood is highly sought for a number of wood…
- Performance of naturally durable eucalypt posts in Marlborough vineyards
SWP-T039 - Access: unrestricted.
October 2017
The area of vineyards in New Zealand is up from that reported in 2015, which was 35,463 ha. Posts in a vineyard average 500-600 per hectare so there are approximately…
- Quantifying compounds in heartwood extractives of durable eucalypts
SWP-T037 - Access: unrestricted.
August 2017
It is known that the relative amounts of heartwood compounds differ between trees of the same species (Fries et al., 2000; Haupt et al., 2003; Partanen et al., 2011). This…
- Potential for Growing and Processing Durable Eucalypts in New Zealand
SWP-T036 - Access: unrestricted.
July 2017
In NZ there is considerable commercial interest in finding alternative forest species to radiata pine which (1) are naturally durable and do not require chemical preservative treatment for either in…
- Pest management for durable eucalypts
SWP-T029 - Access: unrestricted.
June 2017
One of the more unexpected and important results from the phenology study summarised here, was that only one generation of P. charybdis was observed in each of the two years monitored. This…
- Heartwood in Eucalyptus bosistoana (2010 plantings)
SWP-T028 - Access: unrestricted.
June 2017
The objective of this work is to screen the 2010 E. bosistoana breeding population for heartwood quantity (diameter) and quality (extractive content) CONCLUSION Variation in heartwood diameter between the families was observed,…
- Modelling growth of Eucalyptus spp. on New Zealand dryland micro-sites
SWP-T027 - Access: unrestricted.
June 2017
New Zealand’s planted forests are mainly established on low value land, especially land that is not useful for pastoral agriculture. Much of the low value land is found in hill country, which…
- Measuring Strain in Wet Eucalyptus Wood by NIR
SWP-T026 - Access: unrestricted.
June 2017
These experiments investigated whether band shifts in the NIR caused by strain can be observed in fully water saturated eucalyptus wood samples. Air-dry samples with minor changes in moisture content…
- Improving Heartwood of Durable Eucalypts - Manuscript
SWP-T024 - Access: unrestricted.
June 2017
The New Zealand Drylands Forests Initiative (NZDFI) aims to establish a new hardwood forest industry based on naturally durable eucalypts. As key a product NZDFI has identified sustainably-grown naturally durable…
- Early Heartwood Screening by Wounding
SWP-T024 - Access: unrestricted.
June 2017
Trees can be screened at age (1-2 years) for wood properties such as growth stress, collapse, density or stiffness (Chauhan and Entwistle, 2010; Chauhan et al., 2013). Early selection reduces…
- 100 years of the Eucalyptus Tortoise Beetle in New Zealand
SWP-T023 - Access: unrestricted.
June 2017
The Eucalyptus tortoise beetle, Paropsis charybdis, has been one of the most successful insect pests to invade New Zealand. One hundred years have now passed, and yet this pest continues to cause…
- Predicting Strain Levels in Air-dried Wood using near Infrared Spectroscopy
SWP-T020 - Access: unrestricted.
June 2017
To investigate the possibility of measuring strain using near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, spectra of air-dried radiata wood samples were collected while under different levels of tension stress. The spectral changes…
- Calibrating NIR spectroscopy for extractive content of E. bosistoana stem cores
SWP-T017 - Access: unrestricted.
November 2016
A meaningful selection/breeding programme requires the assessment of many (i.e. thousands) of individuals. The time and labour requirements of standard durability tests based on fungal decay prohibit their use in…
- Review of eucalypt wood processing issues
SWP-T016 - Access: unrestricted.
August 2016
The vast majority of eucalypt plantations worldwide (at least 20 million ha) have been established as fast-growing exotic biomass forests for pulpwood and energy in tropical and sub-tropical environments and…
- Identification of Issues and Opportunities for LVL from NZ Eucalypts
SWP-T015 - Access: unrestricted.
October 2016
Information on the opportunities and possible issues for LVL made from eucalypts available or likely to be available in NZ is reviewed and summarised. While it is generally agreed that…
- Heartwood formation in young Eucalyptus bosistoana
SWP-T012 - Access: unrestricted.
August 2016
Little is known about heartwood formation in young trees and published literature reports are based on heartwood of old trees. However, in the context of fast-growing short-rotation durable eucalyptus plantations,…
- Screening Eucalyptus bosistoana for Heartwood
SWP-T009 - Access: unrestricted.
August 2016
Some eucalypts produce timber of highest natural durability and rich colour. Only the heartwood of trees can have these properties. However, the amount and quality of heartwood in trees is…
- Literature Review: Measuring Growth-strain by IR-spectroscopy
SWP-T002 - Access: unrestricted.
July 2016
Growth-stresses cause problems in wood processing. Current measurement methods of growth stresses are labour-intensive and destructive. Research has shown that changes in stress levels, moisture content and temperature induce molecular deformations in wood,…