Australian hardwoods for fuelwood and agroforestry

• Zimbabwe Forestry Commission, Zimbabwe
• Royal Forest Department, Thailand
• Kenya Forest Research Institute, Kenya

ACIAR's Forestry Program has two major thrusts: the exploration for and utilisation of Australia's unique forest genetic resources, and the investigation of biological methods for improving nutrition of selected tree species through the study of soil microorganisms. Best use of these selected tree species will help relieve fuelwood shortages in developing countries and boost the cause of agroforestry.

The earlier project 8320 laid the foundation for the overall Forestry Program. This project replaces 8320 and is intended to extend the scope of work. Project work will take place in Australia, Thailand, Kenya and Zimbabwe. It will involve growth trials, climatic analysis, and evaluation of the usefulness of promising species.

Scientists will undertake supplementary research into evaluating the leaf oils, fodder values, coppicing abilities and vegetative propagation of new species. Training of staff members from collaborating institutions in these evaluation techniques will take place when Australian project officers visit. Some overseas officers will visit Australia for further training.

This major project has 10 subproject components for ease of management:

Subproject A: Species and Provenance Field Trials in Thailand
Research that commenced in project 8320 will continue. It will involve maintenance and measurement of already established species trials and establishment of provenance trials of promising species. Selected plots from the established trials will be used to study coppicing and cutting. Trials will be used for training and extension purposes, and will be the focus of small workshops on design and analysis of trials.

Subproject B: Species and Provenance Trials in Zimbabwe
This subproject will undertake a similar research program to that in progress in Thailand. In addition a limited number of species elimination trials will be established in dry zones (< or around 500 mm annual rainfall). The trials will be used for training and extension, with special emphasis on assessment of firewood qualities through small householder use.

Subproject C: Species and Provenance Trials in Kenya
This subproject will follow a similar program to Subproject B.

Subproject D: Screening of Australian Species for Tolerance and Growth in Acid Soils
This subproject will be undertaken in Brisbane, Australia, in association with other ACIAR-supported research into acid soils. Researchers will clarify field research results. They will examine the connection between Rhizobium inoculation and acid tolerance of 20 acacia species, and also screen a range of tropical and subtropical tree species for acid tolerance under glasshouse conditions. They will refine methods for rapid screening of acid-tolerant species.

Subproject E: Climatic Analysis
This subproject is an extension of climatic research undertaken in Project 8320. It involves developing a simple model to facilitate matching of species with different areas. Two major tasks are to analyse climatic variability within the natural distribution of Acacia auriculiformis, also to complete work on climatic interpolation surfaces for Africa and to analyse preliminary data gathered in field observations.

Subproject F: Will not proceed

Subproject G: TREDAT
TREDAT is a database which records data from species trials in Australia and overseas. This subproject will further develop the database for interaction with other major databases worldwide.

Subproject H: Geographic variation in Acacia auriculiformis and A. holosericea and production of an annotated bibliography on A. auriculiformis and a work manual for the A. auriculiformis provenance trials.
Major objectives of this subproject are to consolidate the development and interpretation of results of field provenance trials of Acacia holosericea and Acacia auriculiformis - the former for use in drier zones and the latter in moister areas of the tropics and subtropics.

Subproject I: Value-added products of lesser-known trees
This work will continue from project 8320. Researchers will determine fodder values for a range of tree and shrub species which have grown in Gympie, Queensland over the past two years.

Subproject J: Seed collection for ACIAR trials
This subproject entails continual collection of seed for dry zone species trials, silvicultural trials and provenance trials. An ACIAR seed collector will be attached to the Australian Tree Seed Centre specifically for this purpose.

Researchers propose to visit West Africa to review experience of growing Australian trees in the arid zones of Niger, Nigeria and Burkina Faso. This review will strengthen the dry-zone species trials in Kenya and Zimbabwe.

Other major project activities will include the publication of a book entitled 'Sun and Shade - Australian Tropical/Subtropical Multipurpose Trees and Shrubs : collection, field testing and evaluation'; and a second major workshop on Australian acacias, proposed for Thailand in 1990.