Leaf area and biomass of eucalypt clone intact plants were compared to sprouts from juvenile eucalypt clone coppiced plants, established in a 9.5 x 4.0 m spacing in an agroforestry system, managed to produce small diameter plants for charcoal. Two coppice ages (9 and 12-month old plants), three sprout thinning intensities (no thinning and thinning to two or three sprouts per stump) and two sprout thinning ages (6 and 9 months after coppicing) were studied in an entirely randomized experimental design with three replications. Leaf area and aboveground biomass of the sprouts/stump and of the intact plants were evaluated every three months after coppicing. At the age of 12 and 15 months, total leaf area of the sprouts/stump of the plants coppiced at the age of 9 months, without sprout thinning, was, respectively, 17% and 24% greater than for the 24-month old intact plants. The 15-month old sprout stem biomass was 19% greater than 24-month old intact plants. These results indicate that juvenile eucalypt clone coppicing can be used to produce small diameter logs for charcoal, allowing for the continuity of the agroforestry system.
Sprout growth; biomass; leaf area
