Growth response of rainforest cabinet timber species to fertiliser application in North Queensland plantations

Abstract

Declining supplies of cabinet-timber from natural stands of tropical rainforest combined with an increasing global demand for all classes of timber has given rise to a significant interest in developing plantations of high-value cabinet timber species in many parts of the tropics. In many cases the plantations are being established on land with low inherent fertility or sites that have been degraded as a result of poor landuse practices. The use of fertilisers has the potential to increase the production on these sites, but our understanding of the rates, timing and types of fertiliser to use with different species on different soil or site types is poor. This paper describes results of expe..