Shinken Kami
2nd February 2007, 04:59 AM
Hey forums!
This is probably a real odd ball question, and although I am new to the forums I would be grateful for any and all responses (that are helpful...) I joined the forums recently foremost because of my passion for woodwork, although I am an amateur at the beginning of my journey. I have been hanging around and reading since atleast the most excellent capers with the Clamp orders. If you are allergic to long, long posts, then turn back now. Otherwise, please be prepared for some unapologetic waffle…
I am a university student, completing honours in physics and mathematics with interests in environmental science, energy and engineering and have throughout my life been proactive in being both conservative and protective of the environment.
Getting closer to the crux of the matter… I have purchased approximately 300 acres of the most salt blasted and eroded countryside that I could procure with the remuneration of part time employ and scholarship (actually, it was the cheapest land in I could find, just east south east of Lake Grace in WA.) My short term goal is to use the land for research in order to complete PhDs in the environmental sciences and engineering, and from there use it to produce meaningful research, build a home, raise my family etc...
Combating salinity is a much underrated task in rural Australia (any part actually), though it is made none the less important because of it. I endeavour to combine / hone my newly acquired engineering skills and my passion for the environment into a meaningful study using this pocket of land, and eventually return it to a state of, if not native forest, then sustainable plantation - and a nice place to live (and enjoy some woodwork.) Who knows, 300 acres of somewhat heavily planted land may even help with this global warming problem (topical, and surely wishful thinking...) but to be sure, plantation projects are known to drastically drop water tables, and the transpiration / precipitation cycle can help in leaching salt further into the ground. This can only be good for the surrounding land - and with a little education, and perhaps some sound engineering - which I still hope to learn :) - the problem of salinity might get a better look in. With $200+ million a year in lost productivity in WA's wheat belt alone, it is time I believe to put on the game face and become serious about reclaiming salt scalded land.
At the risk of sounding conceited after all this spiel regarding the reclaiming of some fairly savaged land and saving the earth from the big bad global warming hu-ha that everyone except those in control want to acknowledge, I want some help identifying important commercial timbers amongst salt tolerant species.
The reason for this is fair; I need to be able to fund this project. I have some initial sponsorship interests, particularly from a hydro engineering perspective. Half of the problem in dealing with this form of salinity is lowering the water table - and as water supply and treatment is a big issue at the moment, finding money isn’t hard so long as certain outcomes are addressed. However monetary gain is not the main consideration. Salt blight has many unfortunate side effects, amongst them the stripping of and/or making nutrient inaccessible to anything but sadistic plant species. To combat this, once leaching has become evident the plantation ecosystem must be broadened to include beneficial species such as nitrogen fixing plants, for instance acacia species, and broadened again for other considerations and so on. To make room for these, salt tolerant timbers will need to be removed as the need for them becomes reduced. This would otherwise be a total waste of resource, so commercial importance is important.
While I understand that trees take time to grow, I am undertaking this project with the outlook that it may well take the rest of my life and so self sufficiency becomes important. Then again it may come to naught. To be sure, the trees are only part of the entire picture, with bores and evaporation considerations, salt farming and leaching, huge reticulation and irrigation nightmares... the list goes on. But I love trees and I would also like to contribute something meaningful... My dream is to take this somewhat humble 300 acres and return it to land that is usable for at the very least renewable plantation and in doing so forging perhaps a new industry which can combat salinity anywhere.
So far I have been far to concerned with installing bores, evap tanks, windmills and irrigation to look into the commercial availability of many salt tolerant plants in Australia. However, I have come up with
* White spruce
* Sycamore maple
* Red oak, Black oak
* Willow
* Birch
As you may expect, most salt tolerant species I have researched are non-native. With the exception of hybridised and crossbred gum trees that some of my peers have pinned their hopes on, to my understanding there are few others that come close to having the same levels of tolerance to salt as these listed. Although there is some problem in finding these plants in numbers for viability, this is not unsurmountable given the resources I have at my disposal.
The question is then, what trees among those that exhibit high salt tolerance (listed above or otherwise) are of commercial value, and more significantly to those of the forum, species that appeal to our own endeavours? Please consider what they would be used for commercially – and advise if species are only of interest for chipping / pulp / resin etc – processes with I find to be discouraging at the least.
Enough for now I have to go to work in three hours. Thanks sincerely for your consideration, and for getting this far into my first post... My sincerest apologies for any trauma induced :)
Bryn.
This is probably a real odd ball question, and although I am new to the forums I would be grateful for any and all responses (that are helpful...) I joined the forums recently foremost because of my passion for woodwork, although I am an amateur at the beginning of my journey. I have been hanging around and reading since atleast the most excellent capers with the Clamp orders. If you are allergic to long, long posts, then turn back now. Otherwise, please be prepared for some unapologetic waffle…
I am a university student, completing honours in physics and mathematics with interests in environmental science, energy and engineering and have throughout my life been proactive in being both conservative and protective of the environment.
Getting closer to the crux of the matter… I have purchased approximately 300 acres of the most salt blasted and eroded countryside that I could procure with the remuneration of part time employ and scholarship (actually, it was the cheapest land in I could find, just east south east of Lake Grace in WA.) My short term goal is to use the land for research in order to complete PhDs in the environmental sciences and engineering, and from there use it to produce meaningful research, build a home, raise my family etc...
Combating salinity is a much underrated task in rural Australia (any part actually), though it is made none the less important because of it. I endeavour to combine / hone my newly acquired engineering skills and my passion for the environment into a meaningful study using this pocket of land, and eventually return it to a state of, if not native forest, then sustainable plantation - and a nice place to live (and enjoy some woodwork.) Who knows, 300 acres of somewhat heavily planted land may even help with this global warming problem (topical, and surely wishful thinking...) but to be sure, plantation projects are known to drastically drop water tables, and the transpiration / precipitation cycle can help in leaching salt further into the ground. This can only be good for the surrounding land - and with a little education, and perhaps some sound engineering - which I still hope to learn :) - the problem of salinity might get a better look in. With $200+ million a year in lost productivity in WA's wheat belt alone, it is time I believe to put on the game face and become serious about reclaiming salt scalded land.
At the risk of sounding conceited after all this spiel regarding the reclaiming of some fairly savaged land and saving the earth from the big bad global warming hu-ha that everyone except those in control want to acknowledge, I want some help identifying important commercial timbers amongst salt tolerant species.
The reason for this is fair; I need to be able to fund this project. I have some initial sponsorship interests, particularly from a hydro engineering perspective. Half of the problem in dealing with this form of salinity is lowering the water table - and as water supply and treatment is a big issue at the moment, finding money isn’t hard so long as certain outcomes are addressed. However monetary gain is not the main consideration. Salt blight has many unfortunate side effects, amongst them the stripping of and/or making nutrient inaccessible to anything but sadistic plant species. To combat this, once leaching has become evident the plantation ecosystem must be broadened to include beneficial species such as nitrogen fixing plants, for instance acacia species, and broadened again for other considerations and so on. To make room for these, salt tolerant timbers will need to be removed as the need for them becomes reduced. This would otherwise be a total waste of resource, so commercial importance is important.
While I understand that trees take time to grow, I am undertaking this project with the outlook that it may well take the rest of my life and so self sufficiency becomes important. Then again it may come to naught. To be sure, the trees are only part of the entire picture, with bores and evaporation considerations, salt farming and leaching, huge reticulation and irrigation nightmares... the list goes on. But I love trees and I would also like to contribute something meaningful... My dream is to take this somewhat humble 300 acres and return it to land that is usable for at the very least renewable plantation and in doing so forging perhaps a new industry which can combat salinity anywhere.
So far I have been far to concerned with installing bores, evap tanks, windmills and irrigation to look into the commercial availability of many salt tolerant plants in Australia. However, I have come up with
* White spruce
* Sycamore maple
* Red oak, Black oak
* Willow
* Birch
As you may expect, most salt tolerant species I have researched are non-native. With the exception of hybridised and crossbred gum trees that some of my peers have pinned their hopes on, to my understanding there are few others that come close to having the same levels of tolerance to salt as these listed. Although there is some problem in finding these plants in numbers for viability, this is not unsurmountable given the resources I have at my disposal.
The question is then, what trees among those that exhibit high salt tolerance (listed above or otherwise) are of commercial value, and more significantly to those of the forum, species that appeal to our own endeavours? Please consider what they would be used for commercially – and advise if species are only of interest for chipping / pulp / resin etc – processes with I find to be discouraging at the least.
Enough for now I have to go to work in three hours. Thanks sincerely for your consideration, and for getting this far into my first post... My sincerest apologies for any trauma induced :)
Bryn.