REPORTS OF SEED COLLECTIONS BY CSIRO DIVISION OF FOREST RESEARCH, AUSTRALIA

(All collections by CSIRO personnel unless otherwise stated)

A. SEED COLLECTIONS MADE IN 1983 (REPORT RECEIVED MARCH 1984)

1. January 1983 - North Queensland

The collaborative seed collection between DFR and the Zimbabwe Forestry Commission, first commenced in November 1982, was completed. The eight-week project yielded 38 provenances of 16 species (14 eucalypts and 2 casuarinas) and a total seed weight of 51.3 kg from 354 parent trees.

2. February 1983 - Australian Capital Territory

A two-day collection in the Brindabella Ranges gave four provenances of Eucalyptus pauciflora yielding 3 kg of seed from 20 parent trees.

3. March to May 1983 - Southern Queensland and Northern New South Wales

This was the second of a series of seed collections undertaken in collaboration with the Zimbabwe Forestry Commission. During six weeks in the field seed was gathered from 17 provenances of E. grandis, 6 of E. pilularis, 3 of E. elata and one each of E. pyrocarpa and E. saligna. In all, 34.6 kg of seed were obtained from 221 parent trees.

4. May 1983 - Northern Territory and Northwest Western Australia

A month-long field trip to the north resulted in the collection of 13 provenances of E. camaldulensis (including Katherine, Victoria R, Ord R and Fitzroy Crossing), 2 of E. argillacea, 2 of E. ‘pantoleuca’ and one each of E. patellaris, E. tectifica, E. microtheca, E. jensenii and E. lirata. A grand total of 38.5 kg of seed were obtained from 131 parent trees.

5. August/September 1983 - Northern New South Wales and Southern Queensland

The principal aim of this three-week mission was to sample E. resinifera and E. microcorys provenances. Of these, thirteen sources were obtained as well as single provenances of E. andrewsii, E. umbra, Allocasuarina littoralis, A. tortulosa, Casuarina glauca and Syncarpia glomulifera. In all, 10.2 kg of seed were obtained from 109 parent trees.

6. September 1983 - Australian Capital Territory and Eastern Victoria

Four higher elevation sources of E. viminalis were obtained in 10 days in the field by a joint CSIRO/EMBRAPA (Brazil) team. 80 parent trees were sampled yielding a total of 5.8 kg of seed.

7. October/November 1983 - Central Northern Territory and Western Australia

A seed collecting trip of five weeks' duration including two staff members of the Zimbabwe Forestry Commission (IDRC sponsored) and a trainee from PDR Yemen (FAO sponsored) was undertaken to Australia's remote western deserts. A total of 87 kg of seed from 51 species were collected, including seed from four undescribed species of Eucalyptus. The trip was the last of a series aimed at completing range-wide collections of A. aneura.

8. October to December 1983 - North Queensland

A CSIRO/EMBRAPA seed collecting team, during an eight-week field trip, sampled five provenances of E. grandis, three of E. cloeziana, two each of E. tereticornis and E. pellita, and one of E. resinifera. A grand total of 65 kg of seed from 244 parent trees were obtained for programmes in Brazil and elsewhere.

9. November 1983 (on-going) - North Queensland

The collection of seed of 100 lesser-known species of potential value for fuelwood and agroforestry in other countries, primarily by an ACIAR-funded ¹ team operating from DFR Atherton, has commenced. By late December a wide range of genera had been sampled including species of Acacia, Adenanthera, Atalaya, Grevillea, Leptospermum, Melaleuca, Parinaria, Petalostigma, Planchonella, Sterculia, Syzygium, and Terminalia.

B. SEED COLLECTIONS MADE IN 1984 (REPORT RECEIVED FEBRUARY 1985)

1. January - March Southeastern Queensland

A joint CSIRO/EMBRAPA (Brazil) team collected seeds from provenances of: Eucalyptus grandis (2), E. saligna (3), E. pilularis (2), E. cloeziana (2), and E. maculata (2). Seven weeks in the field yielded 47kg of seed from 277 trees.

2. March, Northern Coastal New South Wales

Casuarina equisetifolia var. incana was collected from north coastal regions of New South Wales. Six provenances totalling 41 trees and yielding 1.8 kg of seed were collected.

3. March, Southern New South Wales

A two-day field trip in the Canberra region produced seed from E. smithii (82 g from 5 trees), E. dendromorpha (500 g from 5 trees) and E. triflora (500 g from 5 trees).

4. April, New South Wales Tablelands

Higher elevation provenances of E. saligna (5), E. grandis (3), E. viminalis (5), and E. deanei (1) were collected by a joint CSIRO/EMBRAPA team. The collection yielded 17.5 kg from 316 trees.

5. April, Sydney Region

A two-day collection in the Sydney water catchment area yielded 0.5 kg of E. benthami seed from 10 trees.

6. May, Southern New South Wales and Victoria

A team comprising personnel from CSIRO and the University of Tasmania sampled four provenances of E. nitens. Two kilograms of seed were collected from 36 trees.

7. May, Southern New South Wales

Two separate one day excursions produced 3 kg of Acacia melanoxylon from 10 trees, and 0.5 kg of E. triflora from 5 trees.

8. June–July, Northern Territory and Western Australia

Trip number 7 for the joint CSIRO/EMBRAPA team. The objective of this trip was to collect northern provenances of E. camaldulensis. Fourteen provenances were collected yielding 15.5 kg of seed from 148 trees.

9. July – August, Indonesia - Flores Island

A CSIRO team accompaned by two counterparts from the Indonesia Forest Service completed collections of E. urophylla seed from 81 trees at two sites.

10. September – October, Northern Territory and Western Australia

A five-week expedition to the Tanami desert produced 104 collections of Acacia, Eucalyptus and other genera. The two-man team from CSIRO collaborated with counterparts from the French organization Centre Technique Forestier Tropical and the Northern Territory Conservation Commission. 220 kg of seed were collected from 2200 parent trees.

11. October, Southeastern Queensland

A three-week trip to collect ACIAR listed acacias was undertaken yielding 12 kg of seed from 43 trees. Many species were found to be immature and a further two weeks in December were allocated for completion of these collections (see 14).

12. November, New South Wales Tablelands

E. nitens was sampled at two sites on the central tablelands of New South Wales by the joint CSIRO/University of Tasmania team. Twenty-nine trees were sampled yielding 1.3 kg of seed.

13. November – December, North Queensland

One of a series of collaborative seed collections undertaken by CSIRO and the Zimbabwe Forestry Commission. Fourteen provenances of E. grandis and 7 provenances of E. citriodora were collected. In all, 17 kg of seed from 208 trees were obtained.

14. December, Southeastern Queensland

A further two-week excursion to collect ACIAR listed Acacia species. Twenty-five kg of seed were collected from 131 trees.

15. January – December, North Queensland

An ACIAR sponsored collection team operating from Atherton has now had just over one year in the field. Collections from a wide range of species have been made. Genera sampled include: Acacia, Adenanthera, Atalaya, Callitris, Casuarina, Dendrolobium, Eucalyptus, Grevillea, Leptospermum, Melaleuca, Melia, Persoonia, Petalostigma, Planchonella, Sterculia, Terminalia, Ventilago and Xanthostemon. Approximately 120 kg of seed has been collected. This team will be based in Southern Queensland early in 1985 where collections will continue.

C. PROPOSED SEED COLLECTING PROGRAMME FOR 1985

D. SPECIES FOR COLLECTION BY ACIAR FUNDED TEAM WORKING IN NORTH QUEENSLAND OCTOBER 1983 TO OCTOBER 1985

¹ Australian Council for Industrial and Agricultural Research.