Eucalyptus in Malaysia: Review on Environmental Impacts

Abstract

Development of forest plantation is mainly intended to provide income opportunity and to ensure the improvement of the socioeconomics of society. Sabah Softwood Berhad (SSB) is one of the private companies that pioneered the development and commercialization of fast growing timber species and forest plantation. The Eucalyptus plantation in SSB was initiated in response to the emergence of fungal disease that implicated the environment. Nevertheless, the impacts of plantation to the environment regarding water use, soil erosion, nutrient loss, pest and disease, biodiversity, soil quality and hydrology are reviewed. The disputes among various scientists over the physiological and plantation aspects of Eucalyptus, especially their implication towards the environment are also discussed. This paper aims to present information on the impacts posed by the Eucalyptus plantation that will guide the planters and policy makers in facilitating a management plan to mitigate the impacts of this species to the environment.

Early Root Development of Eucalyptus pellita F. Muell. Seedlings from Seed and Stem Cutting Propagation Methods at Nursery Stage

“…Plantation forestry using Eucalyptus spp. in Sabah, Malaysia, started in the 1970s [1] as part of a forest conservation effort [2]. Eucalyptus is among the important fast-growing species that is typically managed on short rotation to sustain the production of timber, pulpwood, charcoal, and firewood [2,3].…”

“…in Sabah, Malaysia, started in the 1970s [1] as part of a forest conservation effort [2]. Eucalyptus is among the important fast-growing species that is typically managed on short rotation to sustain the production of timber, pulpwood, charcoal, and firewood [2,3]. Sabah Softwood Berhad (SSB) is the first private forest plantation company in Sabah that pioneered using fastgrowing timber species, where E. deglupta was initially introduced during the early plantation development [4].…”

Early root development of Eucalyptus pellita F. Muell. seedlings from seed and stem cutting at nursery stage

“…Plantation forestry using Eucalyptus spp. in Sabah started in the 1970s (Harwood and Nambiar 2014) as part of a forest conservation effort (Zaiton et al 2020). Eucalyptus is among the important fast-growing species that is typically managed on short rotation to sustain the production of timber, pulpwood, charcoal, and re-wood (Zaiton et al 2018;Zhou et al 2018).…”

“…Sabah Softwood Berhad (SSB) is the rst private forest plantation company in Sabah that pioneered using fast-growing timber species, where E. deglupta was initially introduced during the early plantation development (Enters et al 2002). However, it was unsuccessful, and was later replaced with other superior species such as Acacias, due poor growth performance (Zaiton et al 2020) and foliar pathogens (Japarudin et al 2015).…”

“…Therefore, E. pellita is an alternative option for the fast-growing timber production industry. Since 2008, most of forest plantation companies in Sabah and Sarawak have been involved in using Eucalyptus species in plantations (Zaiton et al 2020).…”