Previous Page Table of Contents Next Page


Species and provenance introductions in Cuba: research results and projections[11] (A. Mercadet et al)

by

Alicia Mercadet, J.R. Marquetti, A. Alvarez, M. Pérez, P. Echevarria, Esperanza Hidalgo, Osiris Ortiz, E. Rodríguez, P. Romeu, B. Avila, Denia Parada, L. Yero, P. Sotolongo, E. Martinez, H. Maresma, A. González, Orlidia Hechavarria, A. Hernández and Lizeyda Paredes[12].

INTRODUCTION

Obtaining productive, well-adapted forests to promote sustainable, more profitable forest plantations implies a careful selection of species and provenances, especially where good wood quality and high yields are a target.

Botanical enthusiasts in Cuba first introduced forest species in the nineteenth century, notably Casuarina equisetifolia in 1830 and Eucalyptus species in 1867 (Betancourt, A. 1987). Silviculturalists then launched a more production-oriented and organized series of introductions in 1929, establishing observation plots and small production lots in the province of Pinar del Río with 54 Eucalyptus species from Australia (Fors, A., 1957). They later moved on to establish arboreta in Itabo (Matanzas) and Camaguey, as well as plots with various species in Tope de Collantes (Sancti Spiritus) and other areas of the country.

In 1971 the Centro de Investigación y Capacitación Forestales (now the Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales) launched a programme of species and provenance introductions to increase wood production. A summary of this programme was presented in Forest Genetic Resouces No. 27 (1999) (see Alvarez, 1999). More details are provided below.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The working methods adopted conform to Burley and Wood (1979), mostly fully randomized experimental designs in the species trials, and completely randomized blocks for the provenance trials. The Eucalyptus seeds were supplied by CSIRO (Australia), the Gmelina arborea and Tectona grandis seeds by DANIDA and the pine and broadleaf seeds for dry zones by the Oxford Forest Institute of England.

RESULTS

A) Species trials.

Species trials were run on 72 genera in 31 environments (Table 1). All environments showed a positive response for at least some of the species tested. The results of the best-adapted species are found in Mercadet et al, 1990 and 1995.

Table No. 1: Taxonomic composition of the material evaluated and best-adapted species.

Genus

No. of species

Best-adapted species

Eucalyptus

64

E. pellita, E. alba, E. terticornis, E. brassii, E. grandis, E. citriodora, E. maculata, E. resinifera, E. saligna, E. torrelliana, E. botryoides, E. deglupta, E. deanei, E. camaldulensis, E. globulus and E. urophylla

Pinus

25

P. caribaea var. caribaea, P. caribaea var. hondurensis and P. caribaea var. bahamensis

Terminalia

13

T. arjuna and T. paniculata

Casuarina

10

C. glauca, C. cunninghamiana, C. junghuhniana, C. equisetifolia and C. fraseriana

Albizzia

8

A. procera

Acacia

7

A. mangium and A. auriculiformis

Pterocarpus and Swietenia

5

P. indicus and S. macrophylla

Leucaena

4

L. leucocephala

Caesalpinea, Cordia, Cupresus, Khaya, Lysiloma, Melia, Pithecellobium and Zanthoxyllum

2

Melia azadirachta

Aleurites, Alvaradoa, Anacardium, Andira, Apoplanesia, Ateleia, Barixylum, Bauhinia, Borsistum, Bursera, Calophyllum, Calycophyllum, Carapa, Cassia, Cedrela, Colubrina, Couropita, Dalbergia, Enterolobium, Crescentia, Cunninghamia, Fraxinus, Genipa, Gliricidia, Gmelina, Grevillea, Guaiacum, Guazuma, Haematoxylum, Hebestigma, Hibiscus, Hura, Hymenea, Juniperus, Largestroemia, Luchea, Mastichodendron, Melaleuca, Milletia, Mimosa, Mycrosperma, Ochroma, Paraserianthes, Parkinsonia, Picodendron, Pouteria, Prosopis, Samanea, Schizolobium, Senna, Simaruba, Spatodea, Tamarindus, Tectona, Toona and Trichilia

1

Cedrela odorata, Enterolobium cyclocarpum, Grevillea robusta, Gliricidia sepium, Paraserianthes falcataria, Prosopis juliflora and Tectona grandis


b) Provenance trials.

Table 2 summarizes the results from 13 species of the 16 tested in 13 environments.

Table No 2: Results of provenance trials for 13 species

Province

Location

Species and recommended provenance

Pinar del Río

 

Santa Bárbara

Pinus caribaea: Marbajita, Cuba
Pinus tropicalis: Galalón, Cuba

Bartolo

Pinus caribaea: Marbajita, Cuba
Pinus tropicalis: Bartolo, Cuba

Viñales

Pinus tropicalis: Viñales

Sierra del Rosario

Gmelina arborea: Khao Yai, Thailand; Camaguey and Tope de Collantes, Cuba

Matanzas

 

Itabo

Tectona grandis: Ranchuelo, Cienfuegos, Cuba
Acacia mangium: Oriomo River, Rex Range, Trinity Inlet, Abergourie; Australia
Cordia gerascanthus: El Corojito and San Diego, Cuba

Alameda

Melaleuca leucadendron: Alameda, Itabo, Motembo, Ciénaga de Zapata, Tope de Collantes and Camaguey, Cuba

Sancti Spíritus

Tope de Collantes

Pinus caribaea: Marbajita, Cuba
Eucalyptus saligna: Tope de Collantes, Cuba
Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis: Guanajas, Poptum, Alamicamba and Santa Clara, Honduras and Nicaragua

Villa Clara

Motembo

Pinus caribaea: Marbajita, Cuba

Camagüey

San Felipe

Pinus caribaea: Marbajita, Cuba

Holguín

Meseta de Mayarí

Pinus cubensis: Pinalito, Cuba

Granma

 

Central Sierra Maestra

Eucalyptus saligna: Macurije, Cuba
Pinus maestrensis: Limoncito, La Francia, El Hueso Cuba

Northern foothills of the Central Sierra Maestra l

Cordia gerascanthus: El Francisco and Rio Guarabo, Cuba
Hibiscus elatus: Loma del Gato and Dos Ríos, Cuba
Swietenia macrophylla: Las Tunas and Central América Libre, Stgo. de Cuba, Cuba

Guantánamo

Cagüeybaje

Pinus cubensis: Palma Clara, Cuba


Figure 1: Location of experiments by soil and climate zones. Stars indicate the sites of species trials and boxes the sites of provenance trials (see Table No 2 for results).

CONCLUSIONS AND PROJECTIONS

The species and provenances reported as promising proved to be potentially widely adaptable, surviving and growing in different soil types, even the poorest, and deserve consideration for reforestation plans.

The most ecologically flexible genera in the species introduction trials were: Eucalyptus, Pinus, Casuarina, Acacia and Terminalia. Of these the best-performing were: Pinus caribaea var. caribaea, Eucalyptus pellita, Eucalyptus grandis, Eucalyptus maculata, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Eucalyptus resinifera, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Eucalyptus brassii.

Further research should focus on:

Provenance studies on the best-adapted species in the species elimination trials: Eucalyptus citriodora, E. camaldulensis, E. grandis, E. tereticornis, Pareserianthes falcataria, Prosopis juliflora, Acacia mangium, Acacia auriculiformis and Melaleuca leucadendron.

Replication of provenance trials in other locations with some species now under study: Casuarina equisetifolia, Swietenia macrophylla, Casuarina junghuhniana, Eucalyptus pellita, Tectona grandis, Gmelina arborea and Cordia gerascanthus.

Launching new species introductions for wood production, but only for environments for which there has been no response with tested species, painstakingly evaluating the introduction of certain exceptionally productive species which therefore deserve to be tested.

Launching species introduction trials for other Ministry of Agriculture Programme priority objectives, first evaluating existing species.

Combining the new species introduction trials with provenance trials and the new provenance trials with progeny trials, as a means of saving time, work and money.

REFERENCES

Alvarez, A. 1999. Forest genetics in Cuba. Progress in the 20th Century and Challenges in the 21st Century. Forest Genetic Resources No. 27, pp. 16-25. FAO, Rome.

Burley, J. and P.J. Wood, 1979. Manual sobre investigaciones de especies y procedencias con referencia especial a los trópicos. Oxford University, Oxford, 297 pp.

Betancourt, A.1987. Silvicultura especial de Arboles Maderables Tropicales. Editorial Científico Técnica. Havana, Cuba. p78-79, 128-130.

Fors, A.1957. El eucalipto en la economía del agricultor. Agrotecnia. Havana, Cuba. Nov-Dec. p 34-38.

Mac Dicken, K.G; Wolf, G.V.; Briscoe, C.B., 1991. Standard Research Methods for Multipurpose Trees and Shrubs. Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development. USA.

Mercadet, A. et al. 1990. Final report of Stage 509-03-01. (unpublished). Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales, Cuba.

Mercadet, A. et al. 1995. Final report of Stage 004.36-03. (unpublished). Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales,Cuba.


[11] Received May 2001. Original language: Spanish.
[12] Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales, Cuba.

Previous Page Top of Page Next Page