Background to the approved beneficial Cynodon spp. vegetative cultivars within Australia

The growth of the Australian turfgrass industry has significantly expanded over recent decades. One reason for this occurring has been with development of better suited or higher quality turfgrass cultivars for Australia’s harsh climatic conditions. In recent years drought has widely affected the turfgrass industry and as such, greater drought tolerant C4 grasses such as Cynodon spp. have been used. In 2008, as part of the 24th Australian Turfgrass Conference Proceedings, Peter McMaugh wrote an extensive article on the couch grass breeding history in Australia. This paper contains an extension to his work detailing the current (1950s to 2010) Cynodon species found in Australia. Detailed information has been sourced in relation to the origin and development of the grasses which are suitable for turfgrass use. Such detail provides an interesting picture of the source of proliferation of newer cultivars and how the Australian industry has evolved with the introduction of overseas and Australian selected cultivars. The information adds to the preceding work, including morphological and agronomic attributes and how closely each selection or cultivar is related. The cultivars discussed in this article (listed alphabetically) are derived from one of the four classifications identified by the breeder/author, being (i) Cynodon sp. (although the cultivar contained within the taxa fits best being classified as a Cynodon hybrid), (ii) Cynodon dactylon x C. transvaalensis (Cynodon hybrid), (iii) Cynodon dactylon (green couch) and (iv) Cynodon dactylon x C. magenissii.

Structural Veneer Based Composite Products from Hardwood Thinning - Part I: Background and Manufacturing

In Australia, plantation forests have increased in area by around 50% in the last 10 years. While this expansion has seen a modest 8% increase for softwoods, hardwood plantations have dramatically increased by over 150%. Hardwood plantations grown for high quality sawn timber are slow to mature, with a crop rotation time potentially reaching 35 years. With this long lead-time, each year the risk from fire, pests and adverse weather events dramatically increases, while not translating into substantially higher financial returns to the grower. To justify continued expansion of Australia's current hardwood plantation estate, it is becoming necessary to develop higher value end-uses for both pulpwood and smaller 'sawlog' resources. The use of the low commercial value stems currently culled during thinning appears to be a necessary option to improve the industry profitability and win new markets. This paper provides background information on Australian forests and plantations and gives an overview of potential uses of Australian hardwood plantation thinning logs, as their mechanical properties. More specifically, this paper reports on the development of structural Veneer Based Composite (VBC) products from hardwood plantation thinning logs, taking advantage of a recent technology developed to optimise the processing of this resource. The process used to manufacture a range of hollow-form veneer laminated structural products is presented and the mechanical characteristics of these products are investigated in the companion paper. The market applications and future opportunities for the proposed products are also discussed, as potential benefits to the timber industry. © RILEM 2014.