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Scientist leads effort to save macadamia trees
A University of the Sunshine Coast scientist is leading an exciting project to preserve a critically endangered species of macadamia tree found only near Miriam Vale in Central Queensland.
Senior Lecturer in Vegetation and Plant Ecology Dr Alison Shapcott is working closely with the Australian Macadamia Growers Society (AMS), the Department of the Environment and Resource Management (DERM) and the local Indigenous people to save the Macadamia Jansenii species.
Dr Shapcott said it was believed that no other Macadamia Jansenii trees existed outside a single stand of 60 trees in Bulburin National Park.
“When there’s only 60 plants in the whole world all in the one place, it means the species is highly vulnerable to threats like fire, vandalism or disease,” she said.
Dr Shapcott’s team took cuttings from half the trees earlier this month, and will travel to Miriam Vale again this week to take further cuttings.
The cuttings will be propagated at a Beerwah nursery in the aim of creating five new populations: two to be planted in the Bulburin National Park and managed by DERM; two to be managed by the Gidarjil people; and one to be planted in a botanical garden.
“It will take up to two years before the cuttings will be ready to be planted out,” Dr Shapcott said. “While the cuttings are growing, we’ll finalise the locations for re-introduction.”
She said the project had provided research opportunities for USC PhD student Michael Powell and undergraduate students Tessa Penshorn, Hanna Jacques, Jane Quinn and Heather James.
“Michael is conducting habitat modelling for the macadamia species to predict the places where the trees are most likely to be able to grow in the Bulburin National Park,” she said.
Dr Shapcott said the undergraduate students’ work in creating genetic profiles for almost every tree in the stand would assist in planning the reintroduction of the new populations.
She said the AMS had funded the project after securing a grant from the Threatened Species Network — a partnership between WWF-Australia and the Australian Government.
The Macadamia Jansenii trees are the most northern of the four macadamia species in Queensland and northern NSW. The nut is not edible, but the species has qualities that make it attractive for growers to interbreed with other macadamia species.
— Terry Walsh