Site Productivity of Clone and Seed Raised Plantations of <i>Eucalyptus urophylla</i> and <i>Eucalyptus grandis</i> in Southeast Mexico

doi:10.4236/ojf.2012.24028

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Open Journal of Forestry

2012. Vol.2, No.4, 225-231

Published Online October 2012 in SciRes (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/ojf) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ojf.2012.24028

Site Productivity of Clone and Seed Raised Plantations of

Eucalyptus urophylla and Eucalyptus grandis

in Southeast Mexico

Reyna Pérez-Sandoval1, Armando Gómez-Guerrero1, Aurelio Fierros-González1,

William R. Horwath2

1Forestry Program, Postgraduate College, Montecillo, Mexico

2Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California-Davis, Davis, USA

Email: [email protected]

Received June 27th, 2012; revised August 1st, 2012; accepted August 15th, 2012

The relationship between soil variables and forest productivity of Eucalyptus urophylla (Eu) and E. gran-

dis (Eg) was studied in commercial forest plantations (CFP) in Huimanguillo, Tabasco, Mexico. The

group of Eu included seed and clone raised plantations and the Eg group included only seed raised planta-

tions. Tree measurements and soil sampling were carried out at 56,500-m2 plots. Two soil depths (0 - 20

and 20 - 40 cm) were sampled and analyzed for physical and chemical properties. Site Index (SI), calcu-

lated at year 14 was used as indicator of forest productivity. Simple correlation, multiple and second order

regressions were used to test the effect of soil variables on productivity. Results showed that mean annual

increments (MAI) of Eu and Eg were comparable to other regions of the world reaching 49 m3·ha−1·y−1

across a range of low to high soil fertility gradient (15 to 80 m3·ha−1·y−1). For both species, regardless of

the production method (seed or clone), soil texture was the most relevant variable to explain variation in

productivity. Eu productivity was correlated to exchangeable Mg (0.3) and Al (0.3) in the 0 - 20 cm soil

depth and CEC (0.4) and exchangeable Al (0.6) in the 20 - 40 cm soil depth. Compared to clone planta-

tions, seed plantations showed higher correlations between soils properties and productivity. Aluminum

saturation was negatively related to Eg productivity. The highest correlation between soil and productivity

were found for Eg, with soil P-availability and aluminum saturation explaining 82% and 85% of the varia-

tion, respectively. This works shows that low fertility soils, previously used as pasturelands can be pro-

ductive for forest plantation purposes and contribute to carbon sequestration.

Keywords: Forest Plantations; Forest Soils; Site Index; Fast Growing Species

Introduction

Commercial tropical forest plantations (CFP) can relieve

pressure on primary forests and meet timber supply needs,

support local economies and stimulate biomass and soil carbon

sequestration (Diaz-Balteiro & Rodriguez, 2006; Lima et al.,

2006). The increasing demand for wood products and the bene-

fits of sequestering carbon dioxide are important aspects of

forests plantation, however, more information is needed on soil

resource demands and environmental impacts from fast-grow-

ing forest species (Laclau, 2009). This information is especially

needed to plant trees on marginal lands such as degraded agri-

cultural and pasture and to ensure sustainable forest production

practices.

Eucalyptus is the most important genus planted in CFP

worldwide and shows a broad productivity response depending

on species, clones and soils factors (Onyekwelu et al., 2011).

Eucalyptus sp. have some of the highest net primary productiv-

ity rates up to 49 m3·ha–1·y–1 (Hubbard et al., 2010). Mean an-

nual increments of clone plantations of Eucalyptus sp. with no

fertilization, with fertilization and fertilization combined with

irrigation are 33, 46 and 62 m3·ha–1·y–1, respectively (Stape et

al., 2010). The high biomass accumulation potential makes

Eucalyptus sp. a good prospect for timber, wood products and

carbon sequestration projects. Afforestation with fast growing

species has been proposed as a strategy for mitigating carbon

dioxide emissions but there is a dearth of information on the

sustainability of these plantations and more information is

needed to broadly implement carbon sequestration projects,

especially on low productivity sites.

Some tropical areas of the world have the highest potential to

support CFP with fast-growing species due to adequate soil

moisture and favorable climatic conditions; however, soil nu-

trient availability negatively impact net primary productivity

and sustainable tree growth (Ryan et al., 2010). These areas

also often contain highly weathered soils, which may affect

nutrient availability and present other issues such as high ex-

changeable Al (Van Wambeke, 1992). Information on the pro-

ductivity of forest systems around the world is important to

project future trends in carbon cycle and timber products. The

Southeast region of Mexico has a high potential for CFP and

since the 90’s specific government programs have supported

the establishment of CFP with Eucalyptus sp. (Ceccon & Mar-

tinez-Ramos, 1999). However, few studies on productivity and

soil factors in tropical Southeast Mexico have been done to

support implementation of CFP.

Results from previous studies of world forest systems show

that the principal abiotic factors influencing tree growth are

related to water supply and soil physical properties (Gonçalves

R. PÉREZ-SANDOVAL ET AL.

et al., 1997; Fisher & Binkley, 2000; Stape et al., 2004). The

effects of soil chemical and biological properties on soil pro-

ductivity are more difficult to demonstrate, because the dura-

tion of their changes as a result of forest activities is less pre-

dictable (Grigal, 2000). Soil-plant relationship studies are also

important to make accurate forest productivity assessments and

optimize carbon sequestration efficiency in climate change mitiga-

tion projects (Laffan, 1994; Coops et al., 1998; Stape et al., 2004).

The aim of this study was to find soil variables that show a

relationship with the productivity of CFP of Eucalyptus uro-

phylla and Eucalyptus grandis on Haplic Acrisols and Gleyic

Cambisols (FAO, 1989) formerly occupied by extensive cattle

ranching. The study performed in 56 sites provide a compre-

hensive analysis of soil effects on CFP productivity, encom-

passing an array of soil physical and chemical properties to

investigate responses of seed and clone raised plantations in

southern Mexico.

Materials and Methods

Site Location and Description

Fifty six 500-m2 plots were randomly established on 21 areas.

Larger areas had 2 - 3 plots with at least 400 m and with ap-

parent contrast in productivity. plantation areas of commercial

forestry operations located in the municipality of Huimangillo,

Tabasco, in Mexico (17˚19’ North latitude and y 93˚23" West

longitude) (Figure 1). The 56 sampling sites included two spe-

cies, Eucalyptus urophylla (Eu) (4956 ) and E. grandis (Eg)

(756). Eg plantations included seed and clone raised (949),

and (1949 ) respectively. A set (2149) of sites with a seed-

clone mix of 50/50 was also analyzed. All Eg plantations were

seed raised. Ages for Eu and Eg plantations ranged from 4 to13

years old. Mean annual temperature and precipitation at the

study area are 2˚C and 2260 mm, respectively (Figure 1). Soils

types are Haplic Acrisol and Gleyic Cambisol (FAO, 1989).

Previous land use of the sites was pasturelands and conversion

to forestry was done to explore systems with a higher return on

investment compared to cattle ranching alone. The site prepara-

tion for the establishment of all plantations is the same and

includes herbal stratus removal, sub-soiling (60 cm depth) and

initial fertilization (18-46-00).

Soil Analysis

Soil samples were collected from each plot. Five sampling

points on the plot were used to make a composite soil sample

for two soil depths 0 - 20 and 20 - 40 cm. Soil analyses were

performed according to the Mexican Norm (NOM-021- REC-

NAT-2000, 2001), including, pH (KCl 1M, 1:2), organic matter

(OM) (Walkley and Black), total N (TN) (Kjeldahl), available P

(P) (Bray y Kurtz 1), cation exchange capacity (CEC), ex-

changeable cations (Ca, K, Mg), (ammonium acetate 1 N, pH 7),

exchangeable Aluminum (E-Al) (Barnhissel and Bertsch), soil

texture (Bouyoucos) and soil moisture at field capacity (FC)

(–0.03 MPa) and soil bulk density (Paraffin method). Alumi-

num saturation (Al-Sat) was estimated as E-Al/(Ca, K, Mg) +

E-Al) × 100 (Van Wambeke, 1992). Subscripts 1 and 2 will be

associates to the abbreviations of soil variables for the two soil

depths 0 - 20 and 20 - 40 cm, respectively.

Site Index (SI)

The height of five dominant trees from each plot was meas-

ured to estimate SI. The SI was estimated from an equation

relating tree height and age using a base age of 14 years. The

equation was developed from the measurements of 1192

500-m2-circle plots located around the study area. The general

SI equation describing the trend for all plant production meth-

ods, seed, clone, and the mix, was as follows.









0.735836 0.735836

SIexp 1.70238911

HA 

A (1)

where SI = site index (m); Hd = average height of five dominant

trees in the plot (m), Ai = age of the plantation and Ab = base

age of 14 years. The analytical method for the SI equation is

explained in Gómez-Tejero et al. (2009).

Individual tree volume was estimated from Equation (2) de-

rived from the analysis of 635 trees, from which 459 and 176

were seed and clone raised, respectively. Both equations, for SI

and individual tree volume were developed by De los Santos

(2009, unpublished data) with measurements of trees growing

in the same study area. Stand volume per hectare and potential

productivity (m–3·ha–1·y–1) was estimated using the average tree

volume of each site and expanding the measurements to 1100

trees per ha. Depending on the plantation management and final

Figure 1.

Study sites locations and climate conditions.

226

R. PÉREZ-SANDOVAL ET AL.

timber products in the study area, the number of trees per ha

varies from 800 to 1100. However, we estimated potential pro-

ductivity with 1100 trees per hectare as this was the stock den-

sity for pulp production in the study plots used in this study.

The stand volume divided by the age of the plantation gave an

estimate of the mean annual increment of the plantations.

1.7318580.955688 0.018002

0.000084VDHA (2)

where: V = Tree volume in m3; D = diameter in cm; H = height

in m; and A= age in years.

Statistical Analysis

A correlation analysis was used to explore how soil variables

explain variations in productivity, as represented by SI across

sites. Multiple regressions using the stepwise selection method

were used to determine the combination of soil variables that

explained the variation of forest productivity. Also, second

order equations to explain SI were tested. Second order equa-

tions were used to determine if any of the soil variables showed

a threshold at which the productivity of the plantations was

reduced. Because no all combinations of plant production me-

thods and species were established on each area, the analyses

were carried out in three ways: 1) Analyzing all Eu sites re-

gardless of production method, Seed, Clone or Mix; 2) Ana-

lyzing Eu by production method; and 3) Analyzing the group of

Eg plantations that were all seed raised. All analyses were done

using Statistical Analysis System (SAS) for Windows 9.0.

For presentation purposes, the subscripts, global, is used for the

analyses of Eu plantations regardless of the origin of the plants

(Seed, Clone or Mix). The subscripts seed, clone, and mix are used

for the analyses of Eu plantations raised from seed, clone and

mix, respectively. In analogous way, the subscript grandis denotes

the analysis for Eg plantations which were all seed raised plan-

tations

Results

Soil Variables

The mean soil pH among the study sites in the 0 to 20 cm

soil was 4.8 and ranged from 3.7 to 5.6. Clay content ranged

from 9 to 45% in the 0 to 20 cm soil. The highest coefficient of

variation of soil properties were seen for P-availability, ex-

changeable cations and base saturation with increased variation

with soil depth. Cation exchange capacity decreased from 8.2

Cmolckg-1 in the first soil depth to 5.8 Cmolckg–1 in the second

soil depth. Aluminum saturation ranged from 4.2% to 91% in

all soil depths. Other soil parameters and basic statistics for the

study sites are shown in Table 1.

Tree Growth Parameters

SI varied from 10 to 35 m. Clone and seed plantations

showed variation in potential mean annual increment in the

range 7 - 80 m3·ha–1·y–1. The highest productivity for Eg was 50

m3·ha–1·y–1 (Figure 2). The relationship between SI and mean

annual increment correlated well (R2 = 0.87). Other stand pa-

rameters are shown in Table 2.

SIglobal and Soil Variables for Eucalyptus urophylla

Regardless of the plant production method, soil surface vari-

ables (0 - 20 cm depth) that were significantly correlated with

SI were clay (0.6), sand (–0.4), and exchangeable Mg (0.3), Al

Table 1.

Soil variables at the study sites.

Soil Depth (cm)

0 - 20 20 - 40

Variable MeanMinMax CV (%) Mean Min MaxCV (%)

pH 4.83.75.6 6 4.8 3.9 66

OM (%) 5.81.611.6 38 3.5 1.4 7.440

P (mg·kg–1) 2.70.113.6 81 2.4 0.1 12.8121

K (CmolcKg–1)0.10 0.4 100 0.1 0 0.4 100

Ca (CmolcKg–1)0.80 3.2 88 0.5 0 2.8100

Mg (CmolcKg–1)0.20 0.6 100 0.2 0 0.6100

CEC (CmolcKg–1)8.22.613.2 29 5.8 2.6 10.531

BS (%) 15.41 47.3 77 13.3 0.6 65.191

E-Al (CmolcKg–1)0.6 0.11.1 33 0.5 0.1 2.180

Al-Sat (%) 40.31287.5 50 45.8 4.2 90.947

BD g/cm3 0.60.41.6 50 0.6 0.4 1.433

TN (%) 0.20.10.3 50 0.1 0 0.4100

FC (%) 23 1034 25 22.2 13 3522

Clay (%) 25.59 45 32 31.3 15 6431

Silt (%) 15.72 60 54 14.5 7 2630

Sand (%) 58.41177 20 54.3 25 7321

n = 56; CV = Coefficient of variation; OM = Organic matter; P = Phospho-

rus; K = Potassium; Ca = Calcium; CEC = Cation exchange capacity; BS =

Base saturation; Al = Aluminum; E-Al = Exchangeable aluminum; BD =

Bulk density; TN = Total nitrogen; FC = Field capacity.

Figure 2.

Relationship between Site index and potential mean annual incre-

ments for seed and clone rised plantations of Eucalyptus urophylla

(Eu) and E. grandis (Eg). White diamond = Eu-seed; black diamond

= Eu-clone; Circle = Eu-mix; Triangle = eg-seed.

(0.3). For the 20 - 40 cm soil depth, the soil variables that

significantly correlated to SI were Clay (0.6), Sand (–0.6) ex-

changeable Al (0.6), CEC (0.4), and Silt (0.3) (Correlation ma-

trix not shown). A seven-variable model explained 62% of the

variation of SIglobal (Table 3, Equation (3)). Soil variables of the

first depth included in the model were aluminum saturation,

exchangeable calcium, and clay content. Second soil depth

variables included in the model were sand, exchangeable alu

minum, CEC, and field capacity. There were not second order

R. PÉREZ-SANDOVAL ET AL.

Table 2.

Stand Parameters and coefficient of variation (in parenthesis) for the plantations studied

Specie/Group IS (m) BDH (cm) Basal Area

(m2·ha–1)

Volume

(m3·ha–1)

Mean Annual Increment

(m3·ha–1·y–1) Age (y)

Eu/Global 23.8 (24%) 18.7 (19%) 12.4 (40%) 236 (54%) 33.3 (56%) 7.8 (42%)

Eu/Seed 29.2 (16%) 21.8 (18%) 18.1 (30%) 361.7 (43%) 49.3 (42%) 7.6 (30%)

Eu/Clone 20.3 (29%) 16.9 (19%) 11.3 (41%) 171.7 (49%) 23.7 (74%) 9.0 (39%)

Eu/Mix 23.9 (16%) 17.7 (12%) 12.7 (34%) 188.1 (35%) 34.4 (38%) 5.8 (36%)

Eg/Seed 26.3 (14%) 22.9 (13%) 11.4 (36%) 392.9 (34%) 35.7 (34%) 11.0 (0%)

Eu = Eucalyptus urophylla; Eg = Eucalyptus grandis; Global = includes all plantations (seed, clone and mix).

Table 3.

Regression equations to explain the site index in the study sites.

Equation Regression model R2 P ≤

3 ISglobal=22.5 – 7.6 (Sand2) + 7.6 (Al2) – 0.16 (Al-Sat1) + 0.38 (CEC2) – 0.35 (FC2) – 4.36 (Ca1) + 0.30 + (Clay1) 0.62 0.001

4 ISseed = 26.86 – 2.21 (pH1) + 1.2 (CEC2) + 0.11 (Al-Sat2) 0.96 0.001

5 ISclone = 8.39 + 0.45 (Clay2) 0.36 0.007

6 ISmix = –14.99 +0.56 (Clay1)+3.46 (OM2)+ 0.61 (BS2)+0.109 (Al-Sat2) 0.58 0.054

7 ISgrandis =42.41 – 0.31 (Al-Sat1) + 0.32 (Silt2) 0.94 0.003

ISglobal=Site index, regardless the plant production method; Subscripts 1 and 2 are for the 0 - 20 and 20 - 40 cm soil depth, respectively. Soil variables abbreviations and

subscripts as explained in Table 1.

equations that significantly explained SIglobal (Table 3).

SIseed and Soil Variables for Eucalyptus Urophylla

For the seed plantations, a three-variable equation with soil

chemical variables explained 96% of the variability associated

with SIseed (Table 3, Equation (4)). Second order equations

showed that 60 to 70% of the variation associated with SIseed

could be explained with clay or sand content in the second

depth (20 to 40 cm) (Figure 3). The sum of silt plus clay was

also significant with quadratic effects (not shown).

SIclone and Soil Variables for Eucalyptus urophylla

Except for clay content in the 20 to 40 cm at the second soil

depth the relationships between SIclone and soil variables were

not statistically significant. Clay content explained 36% (P ≤

0.007) of the variation of SIclone (Table 3, Equation (5)). A sec-

ond order equation with clay content significantly improved the

relationship for SIclone explaining 47% of the variation (Figure 4).

SImix and Soil Variables in Eucalyptus urophylla

A four-variable model explained 58% of the variation of SImix

(Table 3, Equation (6)). Linear or second order equations did

not help to improve the relationship in mixed plantations. None

of the simple correlations between SImix and soil variables was

significant.

SIseed and Soil Variables in Eucaly pt us grandis

For Eg a two-variable model explained 94% of the SIseed

variation (P ≤ 0.003) (Table 3, Equation (7)). Aluminum satu-

ration and P availability in the first and second soil depth re-

spectively, explained more than 70% of the variation with sin-

gle lineal relationships (Figure 5).

Discussion

Soil Variables and Tree Growth Parameters

Regardless of the production method (seed or clone), soil

texture was the most relevant variable to explain variation in

productivity for both species. According to the Mexican classi-

fication (NOM-021-RECNAT-2000) the soils at the study sites

are acidic, with low P availability and low soil fertility inferred

from low CEC, TN and OM. Results showed no correlation

between TN and BD with tree growth. This finding was similar

to that observed in Eu and Eg CFP growing in Alfisols and

Ultisols in the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz (Delgado et al.,

2009). The soil preparation practices and the humid environ-

ment in the study sites may have favored low soil strength. The

average soil BD in the study sites was 0.6 g·cm–3 indicating that

physical constraints for root growth are minimal, which likely

explains the lack of relationship with forest productivity (Go-

mez et al., 2002). However, under pastureland use these soils

can show soil strength as high as 9 MPa (Geissen et al., 2009).

Stand parameters indicate that soils in the study area can po-

tentially reach high levels of mean annual increment (MAI)

with values from 23 to 49 m3·ha–1·y–1. This productivity falls in

the range of that of some eucalyptus hybrids plantations (E.

urophylla × E. grandis) in South America with MIA from 15 -

60 m3·ha–1·y–1 (Lugo et al., 1998; ITTO, 2009; Pagano et al.,

2009; Almeida et al., 2010). Rodríguez et al. (2009) reported

MAI in plantations of Eucalyptus nitens in Chile ranging from

228

R. PÉREZ-SANDOVAL ET AL.

Figure 3.

Relationship between site Index and clay content (left) and sand content (right) at the 20 - 40 cm soil depth for seed

raised plantations of Eucalyptus urop hylla .

Figure 4.

Relationship between site Index and clay content in the 20

- 40 cm soil depth for clone raised plantations of Eucalyp-

tus urophylla.

47 to 52 m3·ha–1·y–1. Under intensive management practices,

genetic improvement and high productivity sites, Eucalyptus

CFP produced 60 m3·ha–1·y–1 in MAI (Stape et al., 2006; Stape

et al., 2010). With similar species used in this study, Eu, Eg and

hybrids in low fertility soils (Dystrophyc Yellow Argisolsol) in

Brazil showed similar productivity to our results with 1250 mm

of annual precipitation (Almeida et al., 2004). Seppänen (2002)

estimated that Eu and Eg can reach a productivity of 40

m3·ha–1·y-1 in tropical regions of Mexico in high-fertility soils,

but the results indicate that higher productivity is likely possible.

SIglobal and Soil Variables for Eucalyptus urophylla

Multiple regression equations with statistical significant pa-

rameters have the advantage of identifying the most relevant

variables to explain productivity. However in our results the

disadvantage of the seven-variable model is its contradicting

outcomes, such as factors like exchangeable aluminum and

field capacity that showed an opposite effect. However, the

correlation analysis with single variables showed positive cor-

relations with of Clay1, Clay2, Silt2 and CEC2, Mg1, indicating

that for all plantations of Eu, soil texture is the most important

variable limiting its productivity. CEC is indirectly related to

soil texture in that finer textured soils often have increased CEC.

Other soil fertility variables like CEC2, Mg1 were also impor-

tant but the transformation of these variables to test the quad-

ratic effect did not improve the correlations with SIgloba .

The positive correlation between SIglobal and exchangeable

aluminum (E-Al1 and E-Al2) is an unexpected result because

E-Al is related to low pH. Exchangeable aluminum prevents

fine root growth limiting the absorptive capacity of the root

system. However, some reports point out that Eucalyptus sp.

show some degree of tolerance to exchangeable aluminum

(Silva et al., 2004). Negative relationships with Sand1 and Sand

2 confirm the importance of fine soil particles to increase water

holding capacity of the surface soil. Soil texture indirectly in-

fluences productivity due to its influence on soil matrix poten-

tial and water storage, which directly effects soil water avail-

ability. Eucalyptus species respond rapidly to changes soil wa-

ter availability increasing productivity (Hubbard et al., 2010).

Acosta (2005) found similar results for Eu and Eg with lower

productivity in sandy soils. When soil are prone to anoxic con-

ditions due to high intensity rain events, coarse texture soil

could be the best sites for Eu and Eg (Delgado et al., 2009).

The Equation (3) includes other chemical properties whose

contribution in the model is not easy to explain. For example,

Al and Ca have positive and negative effects, respectively,

when the opposite relationship should have been expected.

Although Equation (3) in Table 3 explains 62% of the variation

of SIglobal, is a complex model for interpretation. Therefore, the

explanations based on simple correlations are a result with

more practical application. More importantly, when the rela-

tionship with soil variable describes a second order the trend is

more useful as it shows a threshold for productivity.

SIseed and Soil Variables for Eucalyptus urophylla

Only CEC2 (Table 3, Equation (2)) shows the expected ef-

fect, indicating that for the same values of pH1 and Al-Sat2,

SIseed increases with higher values of CEC2. Unexpectedly,

higher SIseed values correlate to low pH and higher saturation of

Al. This result confirms that Eu performs well in acidic soils

with high exchangeable aluminum (Henri, 2001). Results also

indicate that, soil acidity in the study sites has not reached crit-

ical levels that prevent P availability for Eu. The levels of pro-

ductivity found in this work are comparable with that of

P-fertilized plots of Eu in China with 1800 mm of annual pre-

cipitation, where the productivity of Oxysols is limited by P

availability (Xu et al., 2005).

Soil texture is very important for the productivity of Euca-

lyptus sp. plantations. The second order equation describing

clay content in the 20 to 40 cm soil indicates that productivity

will increase until clay content in the second soil depth reaches

50%. Forest productivity decreases when sand content exceeds

35% (Figure 2). Thresholds of soil properties are very impor-

tant as they are useful to screen productive forest soils. The

results of this work are in accordance to the findings of Alm-

R. PÉREZ-SANDOVAL ET AL.

eida et al. (2004) who reported better productivity of Eucalyp-

tus spp. plantations growing in clay loam soil textures than

stands growing in clay soils.

SIclone and Soil Variables for Eucalyptus urophylla

The productivity of the Eu clone group was not related to soil

variables. The relationships between SIclone and soil factors

were poor. The productivity of clones of Eu was not negatively

influenced by exchangeable aluminum or P availability. How-

ever, as in the rest of the groups, soil texture is the more rele-

vant factor related to site productivity. The range where SIclone

increases is from 15 to 40% of clay content in the second depth,

but higher clay content may lead to reduced productivity (Fig-

ure 3). Soil texture and available soil water capacity are the

most important factors to explain productivity of Eu, Eg and

hybrids of these species (Almeida et al., 2009).

SImix and Soil Variables for Eucalyptus urophylla

The variation of SImix could not be significantly explained

with one soil variable. An equation with four soil variables

accounted for 58% of the variation of SImix. The variability

associated with the mixed plantations made it difficult to find

equations to explain the SImix variation. The four soil variables

included in the model (Table 3) showed positive relationship

with tree growth. The positive effects of clay, organic matter

and base saturation are expected results, but not that for alumi-

num saturation. However, taking into account that only four of

the 56 plots showed pH values lower than 4.7, results suggest

that the acidity of the study soil in the present is not critical for

Eu, but negative effects may occur if the soil pH is lowered by

soil management such as fertilization or shorter rotation inter-

vals. Some tree species shows tolerance to soil acidity and

moderate activities of soil aluminum are not harmful for some

species of Eucalyptus (Silva et al., 2004).

SIgrandis and Soil Variables for Eucalyptus grandis

Contrary to Eu, Eg plantations were negatively influenced by

aluminum saturation and positively influenced by silt content.

This result is in accordance to Silva et al. (2004) who reported

that under controlled experiments Eg was less tolerant to soil

aluminum than Eu. Indeed, low to moderate aluminum activi-

ties do not inhibit fine root elongation in some species and

clones of Eu. This aluminum tolerance has been reported to be

related to an internal detoxification process with malic acid

(Silva et al., 2004). The results of this work suggest that Eg

productivity is negatively influenced after aluminum saturation

reaches 50% (Not shown).

This finding is also consistent to the availability of P, which

is dependent on pH (Figure 5). Eg showed to be more sensible

to P availability, this difference between species may be related

to the capacity of internal P recycling. Many species of Euca-

lyptus grows in P-deficient soils recycle P internally efficiently

P (Xu et al., 2005).

Eg productivity is also explained by silt content, which re-

lates to water holding and soil fertility characteristics of the

surface soil. The importance of surface soil texture for forest

species has been demonstrated in other works and is related to

the ability of the soil to provide water to plants in drought sea-

son (Gomez et al., 2002; Garcia-G et al., 2004). The Eg group

showed the highest correlation between SIseed and soil variables

Figure 5.

Relationship between Aluminum saturation in the 0 - 20 cm soil depth

and extractable-P in the 20 - 40 cm soil depth for seed raised planta-

tions of Eucalyptus grandis.

with a lower number of variables, which indicates a high poten-

tial for developing accurate prediction of productivity from soil

variables.

Conclusion

Soils at the study sites have low fertility, are acidic and show

low availability of phosphorus. Nevertheless, forest productiv-

ity of Eucalyptus urophylla (Eu) and E. grandis (Eg) planta-

tions in the study sites is high and comparable to that of other

high productivity regions of the world. Regardless of the Euca-

lyptus species or the plant production method for the establish-

ment, soil texture was the most relevant soil variable to explain

changes in productivity. Soil texture also showed both, linear

and quadratic relationships with productivity. The relationship

between soil texture and soil water is key factor to consider in

the establishment of forest plantations of Eucalyptus in South-

east Mexico. Aluminum saturation is not negatively related to

the productivity of Eu but a negative relationship was seen for

Eg. Soil phosphorus availability showed positive correlation

with the productivity of Eg but not with that of Eu. This works

shows that low fertility soils, previously used as pasturelands

can be productive for plantation forestry purposes and could be

considered for biomass carbon sequestration projects.

Acknowledgements

We thank the support of Forestaciones Operativas de México

SA de CV (FOMEX). Authors and FOMEX declare no to have

conflict of interests for publishing this work.

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