Tropical Softwood (southern pine) Plantation Success Drivers. Islay Robertson Chief Operating Officer HQPlantations

Transcription

1 Tropical Softwood (southern pine) Plantation Success Drivers Islay Robertson Chief Operating Officer HQPlantations

2 Introduction Established mostly in the 20 th Century, HQPlantations tropical plantation base has been beset by cyclones in the 21 st Century. Larry, Ului, Yasi, Marcia and most recently Debbie. While setting back the program, these cyclones have provided insights and learnings for the future. Five threads to discuss: Resilience Flexibility Economic Sustainability Social Licence

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6 Resilience (Genetics)

7 Tropical Cyclone Yasi (Category 5) - North Queensland, February 2011 Species Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis (PCH) origin: mountains of Honduras (few hurricanes) Pinus caribaea var. caribaea (PCC) origin: lowlands of Cuba (frequent hurricanes) Percentage of estate* pre-yasi Percentage of estate* post-yasi (planned) >95% 66.6% <5% 33.3% * by area, HQP NQ coastal estate PCH, mostly uprooted bent and broken. Less damage on well-drained sites. PCC survived largely undamaged in 10 trial/demo plantings across estate (but 28% MAI penalty) Response: increase % deployment of PCC on poorly-drained (high windthrow risk) sites.

8 Tropical Cyclone Marcia (Category 4/5) Central QLD, February 2015 Species Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis (PCH) origin: mountains of Honduras (few hurricanes) Pinus elliottii var. elliottii x Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis hybrid (PEExPCH) PEE origin: Florida (frequent hurricanes) Percentage of estate* pre-yasi Percentage of estate* post-yasi (planned) 50% 0% 50% 100% * by area, HQP Central QLD coastal estate PCH was mostly uprooted and bent, sometimes snapped. Less damage on well-drained sites. PEExPCH sustained variable damage. Clear genetic differences between families and clones led to the Project Windfirm initiative. PEExPCH aged 18 years post-tc Marcia

9 Economically valuable genetic differences in wind-firmness

10 Family trial at Byfield aged 18 years stocked at 800 spha pre-tc Marcia Families are in 4-tree line plots Non-wind-firm family Wind-firm family Family and clone wind-firmness was consistent within and between trials

11 Project Windfirm - methods Assessed 10 hybrid tree trials (seedling & clonal) 38,000 trees assessed for 3 traits Multivariate analysis with TREEPLAN Candidates ranked from 1 to 120,000 for wind-firmness More info: dominic.kain@hqplantations.com.au PS: TBO = %age of tree height lost to breakage Lean ( ) Bend ( ) Averages (all trees) Lean 45 Bend 7 TBO 5%

12 Project Windfirm - results Of the three wind-firmness traits, stem lean was: the most economically important the most heritable related to the other wind-firmness traits had the highest frequency of non-zero measures easy to measure (Angle Meter smartphone app) positively genetically related to height and to a lesser extent DBH Conclusion: Breed for growth, stem form, wood quality and stem lean

13 Project Windfirm: genetic gains Clonal Seed Orchard MAI age 28 years Wood MoE* age 6 years Stem straightness age 6 years Stem lean age 15 years Without windfirmness data 17.7% 4.9% 5.9% 15.8% With windfirmness data (grafted 2015) With windfirmness data (future WF+ orchard) 15.5% 5.4% 9.5% -22.0% 9.9% 2.9% 11.1% -54.9% Genetic gain (%) = advantage over hybrids replanted in 2010 Note a reduction in stem lean is favourable, an increase is unfavourable *MoE = Dynamic Modulus of Elasticity (wood stiffness)

14 Geneic improvement in stem lean in TC Marcia-equivalent event 0 : All trees verical all sites 20 : Future WF+ orchard (reduced MAI/MoE) 35 : Orchard with WF data - grated : Moderate wind-irmness clone (C3640) 45 : Current hybrid average 52 : Orchard without WF data 76 : Poor wind-irmness clone (C3574) 90 : All trees felled all sites

15 Project Windfirm outcomes Wind-firm seedling and clonal plus trees for breeding (e.g. at right) Wind-firmness incorporated into economic selection index for the tropics Clonal seed orchards with substantially higher windfirmness, plus gains in growth, form and wood quality FY18 planting will include wind-firm seedlots

16 Flexibility The capacity to adapt to new/changing markets demands flexible silviculture Establishment shifting from 850 to 1,000 sph Increased thinning and product options Flexible rotation length Capture export market opportunities during favourable trading cycles Rapid response to future cyclonic or other events Capture new domestic market/s

17 Economic Markets Need a sale for a full suite of products Need scale Silviculture A potential high MAI is offset by high establishment and maintenance costs. Opportunities Managed Regeneration Over-the-top herbicide treatment

18 Managed regeneration (restricted to suitable sites) Before treatment (~3yrs) after treatment (~5yrs)

19 Inter-row slashing and guinea grass Guinea grass grows quickly to over 2m height. Slashing is only part of the solution, and temporary.

20 Over-the-top herbicide treatment Mixture of Glyphosate and Fluroxypr applied the result a few years later

21 Sustainability Values within and adjacent to plantation estate: Endangered regional ecosystems of coastal tropical lowlands (several) Endangered species (e.g. Mahogany Glider, Cassowary) Adjacent to Great Barrier Reef and Wet Tropics World Heritage Areas

22 Reversion of selected ex-pine areas to natural forest Improved corridor connectivity Mahogany Glider / Cassowary habitat Riparian protection (GBR water quality) Fire management benefits Community support

23 Social licence Don t assume explain yourself

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