Sustainable Native Floriculture?

The Centre for Native Floriculture (CNF) commenced in May 2003 at The University of Queensland, Gatton. The CNF is a joint initiative with the Queensland State Government, with funding for an initial 3-year period. The phase-out of bush-picking under the South East Queensland Forests Agreement was a catalyst for the Centres establishment. The CNF vision is: ‘to help create an internationally competitive and environmentally sustainable native floriculture industry that provides significant employment opportunities in Queensland’. The Centre is comprised of three research, development and extension programs. The Value Chain Program assists native floriculture industry groups in developing efficient consumer-orientated production, handling and marketing systems for select high potential species. These value chain systems will serve as models for realizing the market potential of and regional fiscal returns on other native ornamental species identified as crop ideotypes that are sought after by end-users (e.g. florists). The Floriculture Program supports the value chain by working to enhance germplasm for the native floriculture industry through selection and breeding, optimize cultivation protocols and overcome any technical barriers that arise. Such barriers include propagation constraints, disease problems and post-harvest limitations. The Capacity Building Program operates to transfer technology and other skills (e.g. value chain management principles) to industry members, train operatives for the industry and promote native floriculture. Conservation of native flora is encouraged through cultivation and community engagement. Protection of biodiversity is advocated via regional production systems that spare natural areas and educate the public as to the biological, floricultural and aesthetic values of native flora. Eco-agricultural tourism focused on wildflowers both in nature and in cultivation is also advocated by the CNF.

As coberturas florestais e a recuperação da fertilidade de solos ferralíticos de Angola

Effects of different forestry covers - “mata de panda” (MP), Pinus patula (PP) Eucalyptus grandis (EG) and Grevillea robusta (GR) - installed between 1965 and 1968 in the Estação Experimental Agrícola da Chianga (Huambo, Angola), on chemical properties of Ferrallitic Soils were assessed up to 30 cm depth, as compared to those observed in nearby conventional agricultural fields. Only the soils of the areas with EG and GR showed a clear improvement in their reaction, content of organic carbon and of extractable non-acid cations and effective cation exchange capacity, usually up to 10 cm depth. The improvement associated with “mata de panda” was less pronounced and that of PP plantations was negligible or nil. The recover capacity of soil fertility may depend on the nature of tree cover as well as on the soil characteristics itself. Results also indicate that the low soil capacity to retain cations exhibited by soils of the Planalto Central of Angola can be increased through both acidity correction and increasing the content of soil organic matter