There are hundreds of Eucalyptus species, which are native to Australia. Eucalyptus species are hardwoods and are grown worldwide in plantations for lumber, pulp products and firewood. Many Eucalyptus species have been researched intensively and have substantially improved genetic stock. It’s the most planted tree worldwide with about 50 million acres planted across the globe with about 20 million of that planted in Brazil. As is the standard for plantations in the US south and elsewhere, in southern Brazil Eucalyptus plantations are planted on deforested bare soils, adding to total forest cover.
Eucalyptus species have been very thoroughly researched and improved. Therefore, users can rely on the consistency and standardization of the genetic stock to produce reliable, repeated results. The remaining variability in wood quality comes from site conditions and weather. Plantation owners try to choose the best site in the most favorable weather patterns to increase their quality and yield. Users benefit from these decisions.
More Eucalyptus species data here.
Applications in the matting industry are numerous. We’ll cover many of them in future courses. Some general points are:
• Consistent and high-quality wood.
• Almost no knots or defects though timbers may show some cosmetic shakes.
• Stronger than USA mixed hardwoods.
• Plantation harvesting not generally affected by weather.
• Large supply of one species.
More questions? Contact us.
Go to the next course here.
