A screening trial of 28 species conducted on non-saline and saline soils in dry tropical northeast australia

Abstract

A trial to examine the suitabilities of 28 tree species for both non-saline and saline soils was carried out in a dry tropical area of northern Australia. The trial consisted of two experiments, Experiment 1 on a non-saline site and Experiment 2 on a saline site. In each experiment, trees of all the species were grown in a randomised complete block design with 6 blocks (replicates) and were measured for survival; height and diameter at breast height (DBH) at age 24 months. These parameters were found to differ significantly between species in both experiments. Of all species tested, Azadi-rachta indica, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, E. citriodora, E. maculata, E. pellita, E. raveretiana, Khaya senegalensisand Paulowniafortue-niihad high survival and fast growth in height and DBH on the non-saline site while E. camaldulensis, E. drepanophylla, E. moluc-cartaand E. raveretianaperformed better on the saline site. Salinity greatly affected survival for some species and reduced tree growth in both height and DBH for most species tested. E. camaldulensisis suggested to be one of themost important species for land rehabilitationin theregion. © 1997 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.