Provenance Studies of Frost-resistant Eucalypts in South Africa

Abstract

Frost-resistant eucalypts have been grown in South Africa for more than 100 years and now cover more than 66 000 ha of private forestry plantations that are managed for mining timber and pulpwood production. Despite the importance of these species, almost no provenance studies of frost-resistant species were conducted in South Africa before the early 1970s. Even recent trials are based on collections of seedlots that are not as comprehensive and representative as would be desirable.