Trees for the tropics. Growing Australian multipurpose trees and shrubs in Developing Countries.

Abstract

This book brings together a collection of forestry research papers from 5 countries (Australia, China, Kenya, Thailand and Zimbabwe) highlighting the main achievements of the first 4 yr of 4 ACIAR projects until about the end of 1987; it also provides an historical record of the initiation and development of these projects. The monograph is in 4 parts which reflect the development phases of the work. The first part (Program development, 3 chapters) details the overall ACIAR forestry programme development and indicates the reasons why China, Kenya, Thailand and Zimbabwe were initially chosen for sites of field trials. A detailed account is given of the industrial history of Acacia mearnsii (in Australia and elsewhere), leading on to the development of an ACIAR programme in China to improve productivity and utility of this species. Details are also given of early seed collection activities at ACIAR, which, with the activities of the Australian Tree Seed Centre, formed the basis of the provision of seeds for trial. The second part (Field trials, 11 chapters) documents the early results of ACIAR field trials overseas. The third part (Resource evaluation, 9 chapters) evaluates the resource in ways useful to people in Developing Countries - such as fuelwood studies, fodder assessments, vegetative propagation, and Melaleuca leaf oils for potential development as a cottage industry. A final part (Future perspectives, 3 chapters) contains a summary paper by the editor (Realising the potential of Australia's lesser-known trees and shrubs: a summary and future perspectives), a chapter of references (covering all the papers in the book), and a chapter containing a list of publications from ACIAR forestry projects.