Assessment of a Eucalyptus provenance trail at Thetford and implications for Eucalyptus as a biomass crop in lowland Britain

Eucalyptus has been largely rejected as a genus for production forestry in Britain despite several species surviving the winter of 1981/82, one of the severest winters since meteorological records began, and three subsequent severe winters. Twenty-one year results from a Forestry Commission species and provenance trial established in 1981 showed excellent growth for some seed origins of Eucalyptus. There were 11 seed sources in the study, and 9 Eucalyptus species were tested: Eucalyptus gunnii, E. gunnii var. divaricata, E. archeri, E. coccifera, E. debeuzevillei, E. glaucescens, E. niphophila, E. nitens and E. nitens × E. parvifolia. It is argued that Eucalyptus should be considered as an energy crop for lowland Britain given its fast growth, high wood density relative to other biomass genera and the suitability of its wood for small scale heat and power installations and co-firing in electricity generating plants.