Die Araukarienwälder Australiens

Araucaria Forests in Australia

2002

17 Lit. Ang.

Unselbständiges Werk

4354

200092977

In Australia the family Araucariaceae occurs with 3 genera (Araucaria, Agathis, Wollemia) and 7 species (Araucaria heterophylla, A. bidwillii, A. cunninghamii; Agathis robusta, A. microstachya, A. atropurpurea; Wollemia nobilis). Only Araucaria cunninghamii (hoop pine) is of economic importance. Hoop pine occurs mostly as an emergent over certain rainforest formations in a discontinuous natural distribution from northern New South Wales, along the east coast of Queensland to New Guinea. Its main occurrence in Australia is in South-East Queensland. Within this wide latitudinal range (1° S to 31° S) there are many different provenances of hoop pine. Due to the decreasing growing stock of hoop pine in natural stands, a plantation program started in the 1920s. Today there are in Queensland 50,000 ha hoop pine plantations (45,000 ha state forest, 5,000 ha private forest). This article deals with the plantation management and the genetic improvement (clonal seed orchards, provenance trials, interprovenance hybrids) of hoop pine. Currently 14 month old seedlings are manually planted with a spacing of 5 m x 2.4 (830 trees per ha). During the first years a strong weed control is required. Thinning down to 400 stems per ha and pruning, clear cutting at an age of 50 years. By wide spacing (9 m x 2 m, 560 trees per ha) and direct regimes (without thinning), improved planting stock, optimal weed control and later age fertilisation the rotation could be shortened.