Growth Problems of Pinus Radiata in South Australia

Productivity of three successive rotations of P. radiata plantations in South Australia over a century

“…Observations in the late 1950s suggested that plantations were vulnerable to productivity decline in the second rotation (Thomas, 1957). This problem received serious attention in the 1960s when inventory data confirmed the declining trend in wood volume production (Keeves, 1966;Bednall, 1968).…”

“…When concerns emerged that the sites in South Australia were suffering from some ''ailments'' (Thomas, 1957;Bednall, 1968), foresters were perplexed because the decline in growth was not associated with any visual symptoms or ill health of stands. There were no symptoms of defoliation, tree mortality or outbreaks of pests associated with the problem.…”

Plantations: Productivity and Prospects

“…Prior to the reports from New Zealand, isolated examples of growth fall-off between rotations of P. radiata had been reported from South Australia (Thomas 1957(Thomas , 1961, though the first regenerated areas showed no evidence of a general deterioration (Lewis 1957). However, by 1963 the second rotation deterioration was described as a pressing problem in South Australia (Lewis and Harding 1963).…”

Rubber, rubber and rubber: How 75 years of successive rubber plantation rotations affect topsoil quality?

“…The long‐term effect of tree plantations on productivity was first documented in the late 1950s. For example, Thomas (1957) observed a declining tree growth after the second successive rotation of Pinus radiata . This declining trend after the second rotation was confirmed across several sites in Australia (Woods, 1990) and for other tree species such as Eucalyptus and Acacia (Hardiyanto & Sadanandan Nambiar, 2014; Huong et al, 2020).…”