What is a eucalyptus tree?

A eucalyptus tree is like other trees in nature. Eucalyptus originated mainly in Australia and Indonesia. Eucalyptus trees were first introduced in Brazil, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul by Frederico de Albuquerque in 1868.

Today there are over 600 species belonging to the gender Eucalyptus. Among the main species used for commercial purposes are Eucalyptus grandis, E. urophylla, E. saligna, E. camaldulensis, E. globulus, E. dunni, and E. nitens.

The first Brazilian scientist to study the eucalyptus and how to grow it was Edmundo Navarro de Andrade, who worked for the São Paulo Railroad Company (Companhia Paulista de Estradas de Ferro). His main objective was to use plantation trees to fire the steam engine boilers and produce crossties for railroad tracks, fences, and electricity posts. He also introduced, initially at the Rio Claro Tree Nursery (located in São Paulo), all the species of eucalyptus presently cultivated in Brazil.

Thanks to the lush nature that protects us and makes us competitive, Brazil has extremely favorable environmental conditions for the planting of eucalyptus. Here, forests grow quickly with the highest productivity rates in the world. The ideal age for harvesting eucalyptus trees for the production of pulp, energy, and charcoal occurs between six and seven years after planting – and between 12 and 16 years for solid wood.

The area of planted eucalyptus trees in Brazil is 3.5 million hectares. This is significantly less extensive and of longer cycle than other crops such as soybeans, corn, sugarcane, and pastures used for raising cattle (Table 3). For instance, in 2005, there were 6.4 million hectares of soybeans planted in the state of Mato Grosso alone. It should be noted that all the crops in Table 3 originated from other parts ofthe world, as with eucalyptus trees.