Benefits and Environmental Impacts of Growing Eucalyptus Species

Abstract

Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering plants with over 900 species. It belongs to the family Myrtaceae and subfamily Myrotideae. Majority of the species are native to Australia and Tasmania with a few species originating from New Guinea, the Philippines and Indonesia. Eucalyptus was introduced into Kenya in 1902 to provide fuelwood for the Kenya-Uganda railway. The species has many uses making it a multipurpose species including; Fuel wood, charcoal making, electricity transmission poles, posts, rails, source of essential oils, industrially used as timber, source of plywood, paper and pulp manufacture, ecologically provides honey flora, shade, and wind- break, ornamentals and for aesthetic enhancement of landscapes. Eucalyptus has many positive effects to the environment; among them are fast production of biomass which benefits the environment by using up large volumes of carbon IV oxide and emitting oxygen, thus regulating greenhouse gases. The species also have many perceived negative effects on the environment. These include; implication on depletion of soil nutrients required by crops thus causing poor crop yields, although it adds organic matter, it produces allelo-chemicals which influence negative performance of agricultural crops. Many species of this tree and in particular, E. globulus sheds its bark continuously and produces enormous leaf litter which could offer an innovative venture in harvesting of these components for commercial use. Few species (E. globulus) are prone to beetle attack with E. regnans hardly coppicing which may discourage farmers from its growing. KEFRI has however, attempted to provide guidelines on selecting and matching sites in Kenya with potential species to encourage farmers to grow the tree species.