Root Development in Provenances of Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehn

Abstract

Eucalyptus camaldulensis occurs in hot dry areas of Australia. The species has a particularly high root: shoot ratio, an attribute which Jacobs (1955) considered would contribute to its success in an arid environment. Root proliferation among six provenances of E. camaldulensis, together with E. saligna and E. pilularis, was studied in experiments designed to simulate a natural situation where seed germinated on saturated soil followed by a prolonged drought and progressive drying out of the soil profile. The results suggest that the ability of E. camaldulensis to establish successfully in a rapidly drying soil profile is largely due to a capacity to produce a massive root system rapidly. The experiments also indicate that Lake Albacutya and Nathalia provenances from the Murray River Region of Victoria will grow more rapidly under arid conditions than other provenances tested.