Forest Ecology and Management 301 (2013) 5157

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Forest Ecology and Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foreco

A review of changing perspectives on Eucalyptus water-use in South Africa

Peter Dye
Ecological Engineering and Phytotechnology Programme, Restoration and Conservation Biology Research Group, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Available online 15 September 2012
Keywords:
Eucalyptus
Hydrological impacts
South Africa
Evapotranspiration
Water-use efciency

a b s t r a c t
South Africa is poor in natural forests and therefore heavily dependent on forest plantations for timber.
These were rst established in 1875, and currently cover in excess of 1,257,000 ha, of which 39.1% comprise Eucalyptus spp. They are concentrated in limited areas of high rainfall which are critically important
source areas for rivers. Originally covered by seasonally dormant grasslands and Fynbos (Macchia shrub),
their replacement by deep rooted evergreen trees has increased evapotranspiration, and reduced catchment water yields.
Concern over impacts of forest plantations on catchment water yields in South Africa were already
being expressed by 1915. Research on this subject started in 1937 and continues today. Methodologies
have changed over the years, providing increasingly realistic estimates of the hydrological impacts of forest plantations, and changing perceptions of their water-use. Regulations were introduced by Government in 1972 to curb expansion of forest plantations in catchments where water supply is fully
committed. A new Water Act in 1998 laid the foundation for a more equitable water allocation system
based on the principle of integrated water resource management. Among other adopted principles, it recognizes that water resources can only be effectively managed within larger catchments, that local interested and affected parties should participate in the management of the water resource, and that water
must be allocated equitably and used benecially in the public interest. This has shifted the research
effort towards measurement and modeling of ET at large catchment scale, as well as linking water-use
to the economic benets obtained from forests and crops. A clearer and more balanced picture of the efciency of water-use by forest plantations and other major crop species is now emerging, but further studies are required.
The forestry industry showed considerable foresight in initiating research into the water-use efciency
(WUE) of Eucalyptus clones in the 1990s. These investigations need to continue, not only to search for
genotypes that limit the current hydrological impacts of forest plantations, but also to explore options
for sustainable management of forest plantations into a future with potentially signicant climate
change. Environmental stresses in plantation trees may increase in response to such factors as a reduction in rainfall, changes in rainfall intensity, changes in rainfall distribution and increased vapor pressure
decits. WUE is likely to decrease in response to greater physiological stress, and clones may be available
to minimize production and economic losses under such a scenario.
2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
South Africa is poor in indigenous forests which cover only 0.3%
of the country (Mucina and Rutherford, 2006). Although heavily
utilized in the past (Philips, 1963), there is currently little commercial utilization. They are valued more for their biodiversity,
provision of ecosystem services and recreation value. There is a
long history of commercial forest plantations in South Africa which
have been established to meet the demands for wood in the country. The rst were established as early as 1875 (Van der Zel, 1995).
Address: P.O. Box 2205, Hilton 3245, South Africa. Tel.: +27 33 3433187; fax:
+27 11 7176494.
E-mail address: pdye@mweb.co.za
0378-1127/$ - see front matter 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2012.08.027

Currently there are estimated to be over 1,257,000 ha of plantation

forests, of which 39.1% comprise Eucalyptus spp. Major species
include grandis, dunnii, nitens, grandis  camaldulensis, grandis 
nitens, grandis  urophylla, macarthurii and smithii. Species of Pinus
(mainly patula, elliottii and taeda) make up 52.5% of the total commercial forestry area, and 7.6% comprises Acacia mearnsii (Wattle).
Forest plantations are largely conned to the relatively wet
parts of the country. Quaternary catchments in which some degree
of afforestation has occurred, cover only 14.2% of the country, yet
receive 53% of mean annual precipitation, and produce 70% of
the mean annual low ows of South African rivers (Scott et al.,
1999). These areas are critically important source areas for rivers.
They were originally largely covered by grasslands and Fynbos
(Macchia shrub) which are dormant in the dry season and

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P. Dye / Forest Ecology and Management 301 (2013) 5157

therefore exhibit a low annual water-use. Their replacement by

evergreen forest plantations has reduced catchment water yields.
It has long been recognized that these impacts need to be accurately measured and minimized (Van der Zel, 1995).
2. Paired catchment studies of the impacts of forest plantations
on catchment water yields
Concerns over the effects of forest plantations on surface water
supplies in South Africa were already being expressed by 1915,
and complaints continued to be heard over the years from many regions in which afforestation was taking place (Malherbe, 1968). At
the 1935 Empire Forestry Conference in Cape Town, it was decided
to initiate a series of paired catchment hydrological experiments
(Wicht, 1939, 1967; Nnni, 1956) to investigate plantation forestry
effects on catchment water yields. Results were comprehensively
reported by Scott et al. (2000), and have been used to construct generalized streamow reduction curves linking streamow reductions
to years from time of planting. These functions have been used to
explore the impacts of afforestation on streamow in all magisterial
districts where afforestation is present (Scott et al., 1998), providing
a detailed national picture. There are conicting estimates of the
overall impact of commercial forest plantations on the national
water resource (Jewitt, 2002), but Scott et al. (1998) estimate that
the total runoff reduction equals 3.2%, with a 7.8% reduction in
low ows. These streamow reductions are attributed largely to
increases in annual evapotranspiration (ET) compared to the preafforestation vegetation. Forest impacts on catchment water yields
conform to international trends (Bosch and Hewlett, 1982; Zhang
et al., 1999; Farley et al., 2005; Brown et al., 2005).
These paired catchment studies have been of great value in
showing the rotation-long impacts of forest plantations on streamow reductions. Eucalyptus have been shown to cause a faster
reduction than pines, due to their rapid early growth and canopy
development (Van Lill et al., 1980). Water-use and streamow
reduction may peak before mid-rotation, and subsequently decline
towards rotation end. By comparison, pine water-use increases
more slowly, peaking in the second half of a longer rotation period,
and showing signs of reduction only after 40 years (Scott et al.,
2000). Trees established in riparian zones were shown to use 23
times more water per unit area of land than non-riparian trees
(Scott and Lesch, 1995), illustrating the effectiveness of keeping
trees out of these zones. Legislation adopted in 1932 and 1969 prohibited afforestation within 20 m of all perennial streams and
water bodies. Riparian zones are now more commonly dened
by soil properties (DWAF, 2005). One paired catchment experiment
provided evidence of the very large water storage possible in deeply permeable soil/subsoil proles. Streamow recovery following
clearfelling was delayed by approximately four years as a consequence (Scott and Lesch, 1997).
Early paired catchment results were inuential in justifying the
introduction in 1972 of an Afforestation Permit System (Van der
Zel, 1995) which sought to limit the establishment of further forest
plantations, particularly in catchments in which water supplies
were already heavily committed. Paired catchment results have
also been used to back up the assertion that alien invasive trees
are utilizing more water than the natural vegetation they colonize,
providing a powerful incentive for alien plant control and access to
Government funds for this purpose.
3. ET process studies
As the demand for water and wood products grew over time,
there was increasing recognition of some limitations to paired
catchment experiments.

 The small number of paired catchments administered by the

forestry authorities (16) was representative of high rainfall sites
(>1100 mm) whereas a large proportion of South Africas forest
plantations occur at lower mean annual precipitation (MAP).
Only 29.1% are located in areas where MAP exceeds 1000 mm,
with 70.9% in areas where MAP is less than 1000 mm (Scott
et al., 2000).
 Forestry management practices were changing signicantly,
involving the introduction of new genotypes and species, new
site preparation methods, new plantation management
regimes, and changed riparian zone management.
 Only broad whole-catchment trends could be shown in paired
catchment studies.
 Results were applicable to small, rst order catchments and
were less useful in understanding forest impacts in larger
catchments.
 The need arose for a wider perspective on forest water-use, particularly in comparison to alternative crops and land uses.
 Funding for long-term monitoring became more difcult to
secure, as short-term contracts became the norm.
The increased availability of computers and ET measurement
systems led to the start of a variety of process studies focused on
rainfall interception and transpiration. Early studies of rainfall interception by commercial forest plantations indicated that this loss
represents a relatively small fraction of total ET (Schulze et al.,
1978; Versfeld, 1988; Dye, 1996a). Studies therefore focused on
sap ow (transpiration) as being the most signicant component
of ET. Sap ow measurements were based initially on the Compensation Heat Pulse Velocity (HPV) technique (Swanson, 1983;
Olbrich, 1991). Later studies employed the heat ratio version of
the HPV technique (Burgess et al., 2001). These studies were undertaken in a variety of sites and revealed the wide range of transpiration possible from forest plantations. Two examples of Eucalyptus
stands illustrate this. Fig. 1 shows the daily pattern of sap ow
(mean of four E. grandis trees) recorded at a high rainfall site
(MAP = 1459 mm) considered optimal for this species, with deep
and permeable granite-derived soils. The trees were three years
old at the start of a 12-month monitoring period. Annual sap ow
was estimated to be 1231 mm (Dye, 1996b; Dye et al., 1997). Regular leaf pressure potential measurements showed the four sample
trees to have sufcient soil water throughout the year despite a long
dry season. The transpiration pattern therefore is likely to illustrate
the potential transpiration under the prevailing climatic conditions.
By contrast, sap ow measurements were performed in a stand
of 3-year-old E. dunnii planted on deep soil down-slope of a gold
tailings storage facility in central South Africa, to assess the potential for interception of contaminated groundwater at a depth of
14 m below ground. Annual rainfall over this period equaled
629 mm (MAP = 704 mm). A full year of measurements was recorded from four sample trees revealing an extended period of
water stress and negligible sap ow during the dry winter
(Fig. 2). Despite this stress, the trees were able to retain their green
foliage and recovered rapidly following the arrival of spring rains.
Annual transpiration was estimated to be 673 mm over this period.
This is clear evidence of the adaptability of plantation eucalyptus
to survive and grow in a wide range of rainfall conditions. Given
that eucalyptus are commonly grown in relatively low rainfall
sites, water-use is probably frequently capped to match the available rainfall supply. Thus, annual water-use will often be far less
than the 11001200 mm suggested by the paired catchment
experiments, particularly in dry areas where small-scale forestry
and woodlots are common. Unless there is an additional source
of water, ET is obviously restricted to annual rainfall, and may
therefore be far less than the potential rate. Such trees therefore
experience regular water stress, perhaps adapting by maintaining

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P. Dye / Forest Ecology and Management 301 (2013) 5157

8

Daily transpiration (mm)

1-Jun

27-Jul

21-Sep

16-Nov

11-Jan

8-Mar

3-May

28-Jun

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

0
31-Jan-07

Daily rainfall (mm)

Daily sap flow / reference evaporation (mm)

Fig. 1. The mean pattern of daily transpiration recorded in four sample trees within a 3-year-old stand of Eucalyptus grandis in the Sabie district (after Dye, 1996b).

80
21-Mar-07

9-May-07

27-Jun-07

15-Aug-07

3-Oct-07

21-Nov-07

9-Jan-08

Date
Daily sap flow (mm)

Daily rainfall (mm)

Daily reference evaporation (mm)

Fig. 2. The pattern of mean daily sap ow in four Eucalyptus dunnii trees shown in relation to reference evaporation (mm) and daily rainfall (mm).

a relatively low leaf area index and displaying other adaptations

typical of water-stressed trees. The above is evidence that species
are not associated with a particular rate of water-use, which is a
widespread misconception amongst the public and even foresters.
3.1. Scaling up to the stand
Available sap ow equipment was generally insufcient to adequately sample an entire stand of trees. A range of micrometeorological systems (Bowen Ratio, Eddy Covariance, scintillometry) has
become available in recent times which allow measurements of ET
at the whole-stand scale. These systems are more efcient than
HPV systems in describing average ET from even-aged forest
stands. A major limitation, however, is the requirement to have
sensors measuring above the tree canopy. Even with the use of
scaffolding towers or telescopic masts, ET can only be measured
over young trees before canopy height becomes too great (Burger
et al., 1999; Clulow et al., 2011). The problem is particularly difcult in Eucalyptus stands where tree height may exceed 25 m after
only eight years, restricting the measurement of ET to the rst

years of their growth cycle. Scintillometers have been used over

a 25 m high indigenous forest where rising topography at either
end of the measurement transect allowed an infrared beam to travel at a suitable height above the tree canopies (Dye et al., 2008a).
However such topographic conditions are uncommon. A further
problem is that such systems are very expensive and often need
to be used at a range of sites. This results in a situation of intermittent short measurement periods separated by gaps in which ET
must be modeled. These systems have been more commonly used
in studies of ET from non-forestry vegetation such as grasslands
(Everson et al., 1998; Savage et al., 2010), savanna woodland (Jarmain et al., 2004), low tree crops like Jatropha curcas (Everson et al.,
2007) and Phragmites reeds (Dye et al., 2008b).
3.2. Scaling up to the catchment
This wide variety of ET studies has yielded much data to guide
in parameterizing and validating process-based models used to
quantify the hydrological impacts of forest plantations at a catchment scale. A particularly inuential modeling study was based

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P. Dye / Forest Ecology and Management 301 (2013) 5157

on the ACRU hydrological model (Schulze, 1995) to simulate forest

ET at quaternary catchment scale over the entire national forest estate (Gush et al., 2001, 2002). This simulation is used by regulatory
authorities to guide decisions on granting licenses for afforestation.
The South African Water Act (DWAF, 2004) stipulates how
catchments are to be managed in an integrated manner, taking into
account the full range of land use types and water users. The country has been divided into 19 water management areas, each of
which is to be managed ultimately by Catchment Management
Agencies representing all user groups to optimize the use of water.
This legislation has spurred research on the water-use and economic benets that are associated with different land use forms,
and encouraged a more balanced view of forest plantations. Prominent examples of such studies which include forestry are by Crafford et al., 2004; Chamberlain et al., 2005; Hassan and Olbrich,
1999; Hassan et al., 2002 and Wise et al., 2011).
There are inevitably many simplications necessary in such
studies. The pattern of sap ow in Eucalyptus dunnii shown in
Fig. 2 illustrates how water-use may be profoundly inuenced by
changing weather conditions, especially rainfall distribution and
evaporative conditions. Fluctuating economic value of crops,
different crop growth cycles, type of management, and different
degrees of management efciency all determine the efciency of
water-use.
It is seen as desirable, therefore, to develop methodologies that
can be practically and affordably used in near real time to continuously monitor the changing spatial patterns of water-use over the
catchment. A promising approach appears to be the use of techniques which combine remote sensing imagery with ground-based
weather data. Local studies have conrmed extensive evidence
globally that this approach to monitoring ET is potentially useful.
Thus, NDVI is usefully correlated to leaf area index (LAI; Ghebremicael et al., 2004; Bulcock and Jewitt, 2009) and a high correlation
between NDVIc and LAI was found for Eucalyptus stands (Megown
et al., 2000). A number of vegetation indices have been shown to be
useful in detecting canopy water stress in Eucalyptus camaldulensis
trees (Govender et al., 2009; Govender, 2011). Daily sap ow in E.
grandis is highly correlated to vapor pressure decits (Dye, 1996a).
This approach will be able to provide ET information on all forestry
stands, including those older and taller stands which have been
difcult to measure.
Advances have been made in using remote-sensing imagery to
estimate ET from forestry and other land-use types in South Africa,
using surface energy models such as SEBAL (Bastiaanssen et al.,
1998; Jarmain et al., 2009). Accuracy in estimating long-term ET is
greatly enhanced if it can be recorded over sufcient sample days
to track rapidly changing growing conditions (see Fig. 2) and changing physiological status of trees. However, this is generally constrained by costs and the availability of cloud-free imagery. The
use of simple regression models based on vegetation indices,
temperature and net radiation has proved successful for such purposes (Wang et al., 2007), and may be a more practical solution for
long-term ET monitoring. This possibility deserves investigation.

4. Efciency of water use

Increasing restrictions on further expansion of forest plantations, and the obvious genotypic differences among hybrid clones,
has encouraged interest by the forestry industry in possible genetic
differences determining the amount of water transpired per unit of
utilizable stem wood produced. The most desired scenario would
be to identify clones which retain high rates of growth but are
associated with a lower water-use.
An added stimulus to research on the efciency of water-use by
plantation forests has been the generally negative perception by

the South African public on the effects of exotic trees on water resources. This perception largely originates from the hydrological
research catchment results, but has been greatly reinforced in
recent times by the alien invasive tree problem in South Africa,
where large areas of indigenous grasslands and Fynbos (and especially in riparian zones) have become invaded by alien invasive
plants (AIP). A Government sponsored program (Working for
Water) has been active since 1995 in combating invasions, and
an area in excess of 1 million ha has been cleared of alien plants
(http://www.dwaf.gov.za/wfw/). A major justication is the water
saved (Le Maitre et al., 1996, 2000) as well as biodiversity protection and job creation. In the public mind, alien trees in commercial
forest plantations are similarly perceived as using excessive quantities of water, without taking into account the economic value
gained from them. These are very considerable, especially when
the entire value chain is considered (Chamberlain et al., 2005).
A series of studies was initiated to investigate the relationship
between sap ow and utilizable stem growth. Sap ow in sample
trees was recorded using the compensation technique of the HPV
method (Swanson, 1983). In a study of four Eucalyptus clones representing a wide range of growth rates in an optimal site, Olbrich
et al. (1993) showed that stem growth across the range of sample
trees was intermittent and unsynchronized. Based on three sample
trees per clone, fastest growing trees showed highest WUE. WUE
appeared to be determined largely by variable volume increments.
Growth was intermittent, indicating the need to continue measurements over at least a full year to cover all seasons and growth
phases. A complete picture of WUE requires information on trends
over a whole rotation. This is impractical to measure continuously,
but may be adequately described by simultaneous measurements
in a chronosequence of age classes.
This work was followed by a series of measurements on mainly
Eucalyptus trees aged 36 years growing in several regions of South
Africa with pronounced differences in rainfall, temperature, soil
type and soil fertility. Annual growth increments were measured
at heights of 1.3, 4, 8 and 11 m above ground using a tree ladder
strapped to the tree trunk. Under-bark diameters were calculated
by subtracting bark thickness. Heights were measured using an
hypsometer. Measurements were taken at the start and end of a
12-month period. The 01.3 m segment was assumed to be a
cylinder with constant diameter equal to that recorded at 1.3 m.
The 1.34, 48 and 811 m segments were assumed to be frustums
of a cone, while the nal segment was taken to be a cone. Volumes
were calculated using standard geometric formulae and summed
to yield the total under-bark trunk volume of the tree.
A plot of annual volume growth and cumulative annual sap ow
from a range of Eucalyptus stands in South Africa is shown in Fig. 3,
while site characteristics are shown in Table 1.
A broad correlation exists between annual stem growth increment and annual sap ow (Fig. 3). The trend is curvilinear, with
trees showing higher volume growth increments associated with
a higher WUE than trees with lower annual stem growth increments. The data are inadequate to discern the scope for increasing
WUE. Of particular interest are the three Eucalyptus clones (solid
symbols) occurring in close proximity to each other in the Kwambonambi area of Zululand. They show marked differences in
growth increment, yet broadly reveal similar WUE due to covarying water-use.
A study undertaken in Zululand (in the province of KwaZuluNatal) provided evidence of a sharp decline in WUE in response
to several months of drought (Dye, 2000). This is further evidence
that WUE varies substantially over time, especially in water limited environments. An important consequence of this is that future
trials in which clones are compared for their WUE must be on
homogeneous sites to avoid differences in soil water holding
capacity. This may be difcult to achieve. An alternative approach

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P. Dye / Forest Ecology and Management 301 (2013) 5157

Cumulative sap flow (m3/tree/year)

25

20

KZN Midlands

15

Kruisfontein
Kwambonambi 1
Kwambonambi 2

10

Kwambonambi 3
Sabie
White River

Y = 27.746*(1-e-9.365*X)
R2 = 0.774
0
0

0.05

0.1

0.15

Trunk volume growth increment

0.2

(m3/tree/year)

Fig. 3. A plot of trunk volume growth increment versus cumulative annual sap ow in Eucalyptus trees from ve localities in eastern South Africa (after Gush and Dye, 2009).

Table 1
Characteristics of a range of stands yielding the water-use efciency data shown in Fig. 3.
Species

Locality

SPH

MAP (mm)

Age (years)

Altitude

Geology

E. grandis
E. grandis
E. GXC clone
E. grandis clone
E. GXT clone
E. grandis
E. grandis clone

KZN Midlands
Kruisfontein
Kwambonambi
Kwambonambi
Kwambonambi
Sabie
White River

3001200
7871370
813
813
813
816
763

8001198
1275
1043
1043
1043
1459
950

211
6
6
6
8
3
6

9201530
11801280
70
70
70
1100
1050

Shale, sandstone
Granite
Aeolian sands
Aeolian sands
Aeolian sands
Granite
Granite

WUE (g stem kg -1 water transpired)

0
Fig. 4. The range of water-use efciency (g utilizable stem dry mass per kg water transpired) recorded in the sample trees shown in Fig. 3. The last six bars show WUE
differences recorded among six Eucalyptus clones aged 16 months.

is to use young seedlings/cuttings in a nursery environment where

uniform conditions can be imposed. However, caution needs to be
exercised as young plants are unlikely to show the same physiological properties as mature trees. A study of young Eucalyptus clonal

plants (up to age 16 months) representing six commercial clones

demonstrated that signicant clonal differences in WUE do exist
(Le Roux et al., 1996) at this young age. Fig. 4 compares the WUE
(g utilizable stem mass per kg water transpired) of the young trees

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P. Dye / Forest Ecology and Management 301 (2013) 5157

(representing the last six columns) to the 36 year old trees described earlier. This comparison suggests that WUE in 18-month
old plants is markedly less than in 36 year old trees.
5. Changing perceptions of Eucalyptus water-use
This review of progress over the years in understanding Eucalyptus (and other forest species) water-use is not exhaustive, but
nevertheless illustrates how research over many years has helped
to progressively change perceptions of Eucalyptus water-use. In
1935, the Fourth Empire Forestry Conference provided a forum at
which the widespread concerns over plantation forests and catchment water yields could be discussed. These were already serious
enough to justify the establishment of a country-wide network of
long-term paired catchment studies. Diligent monitoring over subsequent decades conrmed the negative effects of forests, fueling
sometimes acrimonious feelings between agriculturalists and foresters, especially in times of drought. Forest plantations were believed to use excessive quantities of water. Government
introduced a licensing system to control the spread of plantation
forests where surface water was fully committed. The forestry
industry was unhappy that restrictions applied only to forestry,
and that water could be used less efciently downstream with little consequences. With further analysis of catchment data, modeling and process studies, a more balanced view took hold. It was
recognized that the paired catchment data were representative of
the wetter end (11001600 mm) of the rainfall range of forestry
sites in South Africa, thus overestimating impacts of forests (especially Eucalyptus) associated with lower MAP. Almost 67% of all
Eucalyptus plantations in South Africa occur in the MAP rainfall
range of 8001000 mm (Scott et al., 2000). Sap ow studies
showed that water-use, even under conditions of freely available
soil water, was not excessive, and comparable to moist evergreen
tropical forests (Bruijnzeel, 2000). Studies of the natural pre-afforestation vegetation revealed particularly low water-use which
helped to enhance the increase in ET following afforestation.
The new Water Law forced a radical change in the way catchment
water resources are to be managed (Dye and Versfeld, 2007). Forestry is now considered within the wider context of integrated
water resource management (IWRM) providing a more equitable
basis for water allocation. Forestry water-use is now placed on an
equal footing with other dryland activities that may use large
amounts of water, although it remains the only streamow reduction activity to be declared and is therefore closely regulated. There
has been rapid progress in understanding the true value of water
consumed by plantation forests, making comparisons to other crops
possible. While water allocations to various land use activities are
unlikely to be based wholly on water-use efciency, it is increasingly possible to discuss and compare the benets arising from
water allocations to different and competing land use systems.
6. Future research priorities
Water resources in South Africa are limited, and demand is
approaching supply. Difcult decisions over water allocation will
increasingly be necessary in the future, especially in years of
drought. The IWRM framework has been provided in the Water
Law, but full implementation is still some way off. Research is still
needed to provide a practical, affordable methodology for monitoring water-use over large catchments at sufcient spatial resolution
and affordability. There is much evidence now to show that patterns of ET vary in a complex manner over space and time, due
to great diversity of soils, topography, weather conditions and crop
characteristics. It is suggested that the use of time series of highresolution remote sensing imagery in conjunction with weather

data at ground level will provide the best basis for estimating
water-use at large catchment scale. This will require improved
weather station networks, and increased validation against sitespecic ET measurements (ground-truthing). The LAS scintillometry method is likely to be especially useful for this purpose, given
the spatial averaging over several kilometers. Further research on
the water-use and economic benets associated with different land
use options is required. There needs to be greater networking by
researchers across disciplines, and a wider awareness of the full
range of stake-holder views on water allocation.
It is suggested that a second major research need is for a continuation of investigations into WUE variation in forestry clones, not
only to search for genotypes that may reduce the current hydrological impacts of forest plantations, but also to explore options for
sustainable management of forest plantations into a future with
potentially signicant climate change. Environmental stresses in
plantation trees may increase in response to such factors as a
reduction in rainfall, changes in rainfall intensity, changes in rainfall distribution and increased vapor pressure decits. WUE is
likely to decrease in response to greater physiological stress, further reducing the efciency of stem growth. Clones may be available to minimize production and economic losses under such a
scenario. Comparison of clonal WUE has been shown to be very
challenging due to the need for exceptionally uniform site conditions, inclusion of a range of site types, inclusion of different age
classes of trees, and adequate ET sampling and measurement
equipment. This will require a well resourced project and a commitment to continue the investigation over a major part of the
rotation. An important additional requirement remains the identication of useful anatomical, physiological or morphological features in trees to use as screening tools for WUE.
Acknowledgements
The Water Research Commission (WRC) is acknowledged for
funding a very wide variety of hydrological projects over many
years, which has laid a strong foundation of knowledge of landuse hydrology in South Africa. Mondi is gratefully acknowledged
for motivating and subsequently supporting the early research into
the WUE of Eucalyptus clones in Zululand. The CSIR and WRC supported later phases of this research program. Anglogold Ashanti
Ltd, THRIP (the Department of Trade and Industry) and the University of the Witwatersrand funded a study of the water-use of Eucalyptus under semi-arid conditions. Finally, I must acknowledge the
sustained and excellent work undertaken by many South African
forest hydrologists over the years, in particular in Government
Departments, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, CSIR and Institute
of Commercial Forestry Research.
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