Potential Casuarina species and suitable techniques for the GGW

Casuarina tree species belong to the Casuarinaceae family, which includes 4 genera and 96 species. Casuarina trees are native from Australia, Southeast Asia and Pacific archipelagoes. Casuarinas develop symbiotic associations with Frankia, ectomycorrhizal and endomycorrhizal fungi. They have been introduced into tropical and subtropical zones in the world. Casuarinas are economically and ecologically important. They are multipurpose tree species providing a wide range of goods and services, such as windbreaks, sand stabilization, agroforestry and general rehabilitation for difficult sites. Casuarinas can be planted as pioneer species in hot-dry river valley, dry sandy soil, rock mountain and around desert. The wood is a main source of fuelwood and charcoal, for general construction, fiber-wood, and other wood-based industries.In this presentation, the potential of Casuarina species for the GGW will be described, together with sylvicultural techniques and Casuarina uses. A simple propagation technique that has been developed in China to produce a large number of the best Casuarina seedlings will be presented. Following field experiments, we will show that ectomycorrhizal (ECTM) or arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi or Frankia-tree genotype symbiotic associations play an important role in improved management of Casuarina forest plantations.