Early silvicultural performance of eucalypt species grown in environmental conditions of the tropical dry forest of Colombia/Desempeño silvicultural temprano de especies de eucalipto en las condiciones ambientales del bosque seco tropical de Colombia

• Published in: Revista de la Academia colombiana de ciencias exactas, físicas y naturales Vol. 45; no. 175; p. 449
• Main Authors: Baez-Aparicio, Camila Andrea, Lopez-Aguirre, Ana Milena, Barrios-Trilleras, Alonso
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicas y Naturales 01.04.2021
• Subjects: Colombia
• ISSN: 0370-3908; 2382-4980
• DOI: 10.18257/raccefyn.1288

The establishment of new forest plantations requires making important decisions starting with the selection of the species to be planted, as well as the choice of an adequate planting spacing to guarantee the maximization of wood production. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of nine eucalypt species planted with three different spacings under the environmental conditions of the tropical dry forest of the inter-Andean valleys of Colombia. A split-plot arrangement with two replicates was used as the experimental design. The planting spacing factor (three planting spacings) was assigned to the main plots and the species factor (nine eucalypt species) was assigned to the subplots. Survival and growth were evaluated at twenty-four months of age. The study identified the Brazilian provenances of Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh, Eucalyptus urophylla S.T. Blake, Eucalyptus grandis W. Hill, and Eucalyptus pellita F. Muell. and the Colombian provenance of Eucalyptus pellita F. Muell. as promising for commercial reforestation programs in areas with a water deficit in the tropical dry forest. Planting spacings of 3 X 2 m (1666 stemsh[a.sup.-1]) and 3 X 2.5 m (1333 stemsh[a.sup.-1]) maximized the production of basal area and the volume for the species evaluated. Finally, no interaction was detected between species and planting spacing factors, therefore, the species identified had a better performance regardless of the planting spacing used.