Assessment (and tools and statistical determination) of genetic variation and of establishment and early growth on pines and eucalypts with regard to intrinsic wood characteristics.

Exploiting between and within-tree variability to select and breed for superior genotypes. Our current focus is on very early screening for solid wood quality (structural and appearance grades), connecting wood quality research, economics and advances on breeding and genetics.

This research looks at the interactions between genotypes, site and silviculture, at species, family and clonal levels for radiata pine and Eucalyptus species. We are interested in observing patterns of, and identifying drivers of, these interactions: the project is also developing methods for very early selection of desired traits, and assessing clonal and family variations.

Silvicultural research included impacts of establishment practices on crop values, impacts of silviculture on wood quality, species choice and silvicultural modelling.

Research in modelling is focused on creating hybrid physiological/mensurational growth and models that are targeted at forest managers' requirements, but that can also represent changing climate and seasonal growth processes in sufficient detail to allow the representation of within-tree distributions of wood properties. Modelling in natural stands or native plantations is focused on providing an effective nationwide framework for predicting growth, yield and biodiversity in native forest stands.