Yield and Nutrient Demand and Efficiency of Eucalyptus under Coppicing Regime

Abstract

Eucalyptus stands can be managed by coppicing, however, in several Brazilian regions reduced yield has been observed with harvesting successions. This reduction can be attributed to reduced nutrient availability, among other factors. This study aimed to: to assess the nutritional demand of the Eucalyptus stand under a coppice regime; the effect of fertilization on the production of wood, distribution and compartmentalization of nutrients in eucalyptus stands managed by coppice; the effect of the height and number of shoots, on the occasion of the sprouting, in the production of eucalyptus managed by coppice and to compare the productivity of high eucalyptus wood with coppice management regime. The trial was conducted for clone GG157 (Eucalyptus urophylla hybrid), in Latossolo Vermelho-Amarelo (Oxisol), of the Cerrado region in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Trees were originally planted at the 3.8 × 2.4 m spacing and, after the first harvesting, at age 84 months, the stand was managed by coppicing. Treatments consisted of: (a) fertilization or not; (b) one, two or four poles per stump; and (c) selection of 1-, 2- or 4-m-high poles and repeated three times. Sixty months after treatment application, plots of 80 trees were used for the assessments. The gain in trunk yield with fertilization and the combination between the height of poles at the time of pole selection and number of poles left varies between 140.2% for thinning when the pole is 2 m high and maintains 1 pole per strain and 128.6% when the plants are 1 m high and maintain 1 pole per strain. Not supplying nutrients in the coppicing system leads to lower accumulation of nutrients in the tree and reductions in both wood and trunk yields. Trees in the coppicing system use nutrients for trunk production more efficiently than those in high forest. Earlier pole selection enables the best use of growth resources, resulting in increased yield. Adequate nutritional management of coppiced stands results in the maintenance or increase of yield compared to the first rotation.

Eucalyptus pellita Coppice vs. Seedlings as a Re-Establishment Method in South Sumatra, Indonesia

“…Compared with the original seedling crop, the coppice stand in our study had a higher stem volume (46% higher) at the common age of four years; the stem volume was 124.0 and 181.5 m 3 ha −1 for the original seedling and coppice stand, respectively. Similar results were found in a fertiliser study on a coppice stand of an Eucalyptus urophylla hybrid in Brazil, in which the coppice stand yielded 53.9% higher in stem volume than the original-first rotation crop at the common age of five years [8].…”

“…Similarly, no significant growth response to N fertiliser addition (94 kg N ha −1 ) was found in a Eucalyptus grandis coppice in South Africa [3]. Another study on the application of N fertiliser in a coppiced E. urophylla hybrid crop found no positive growth response [8]; however, the coppice stand in that study did respond strongly to added K fertiliser, as K is the most limiting nutrient in Brazilian soils [7,8].…”

“…Therefore, E. pellita plantations can be re-established through coppice regrowth. Coppice eucalyptus plantations have been practiced for a number of eucalypt plantation species with a great deal of success in many parts of the world, such as South Africa [2][3][4], Brazil [5][6][7][8], Australia [9], and China [10]. The productivity of a coppice plantation has been reported to be similar or greater than that of the originally planted crop [4,5,8,11], but there may be a trade-off in productivity if survival (and therefore residual stocking) is low, vigour is less, or if the genetic material has improved markedly.…”

Effect of coppicing level and Season on stock volume and new sprouting of Eucalyptus globulus trees in the highland part of Northern Ethiopia

“…Since most farmers plant Eucalyptus globules for fuel wood production therefore, Yield is very important parameter that used to Eucalyptus globulus plantation [22]. Coppicing is a classic way of Eucalyptus globules management practices that allows many trees to reshoot from the stump or roots if they are chopped down and saves money compared to replanting the stand [23,28].…”

Produtividade do eucalipto sob distintos manejos de resíduos da colheita e fertilização mineral

“…Da mesma forma, Cardoso (2020) verificou para plantios comerciais de eucalipto que as plantas que receberam fertilização mineral foram mais eficientes em converter os nutrientes P, K, Ca e Mg em lenho. Já Silva et al (2020) observaram em plantios de eucalipto manejados sob alto fuste e talhadia que as plantas que receberam fertilização mineral apresentaram maior eficiência de uso de N, P, Ca, Mg e S. Enquanto Barros (2019), estudando povoamentos de eucaliptos em alto fuste e talhadia observou para alto fuste que a manutenção de resíduos da colheita promoveu a maior eficiência de uso de N, S e Cu. Por outro lado, na talhadia o tratamento envolvendo os resíduos da colheita e a fertilização mineral aumentou a eficiência de uso de N, Ca, S, Mn e B, refletindo diretamente sobre a produtividade de madeira.…”