Assessing genetic variation within Eucalyptus camaldulensis for survival and growth on two spatially variable saline sites in southern Australia

Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. provenance-family trials were assessed on two southern Australian saline discharge sites, each of which demonstrated spatial and temporal heterogeneity for salinity and groundwater-table depth. Ninety-six seedlots (from 29 Australian provenances) including 82 individual, open-pollinated families, 14 bulked provenances and one clone of E. camaldulensis as well as one seedlot each of E. grandis and E. occidentalis were evaluated for survival and growth up to age 34 months. Significant differences in growth were found among provenances and families within provenances. The best provenances at both sites were all from north-western Victoria, particularly those from the terminal wetland of the Wimmera River around Lake Albacutya. Inclusion of statistical model terms for soil salinity (ECe), spatially-oriented incomplete blocking and autoregressive spatial error terms improved the partitioning of within-site variance and were valuable for making selections on these heterogeneous sites.