#7--GM Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering in the myrtle family.  Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia. There are more than 700 species of Eucalyptus, mostly native to Australia, and a very small number are found in adjacent areas of New Guinea and Indonesia and north to the Philippines. Only 15 species occur outside Australia, and only 9 do not occur in Australia. Species of Eucalyptus are cultivated throughout the tropics and subtropics including the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East, China and the Indian Subcontinent. They are known as gum trees because many species exude copious sap from any break in the bark.  Eucalyptus species have desirable traits such as being fast-growing sources of wood, producing oil that can be used for cleaning and functions as a natural insecticide, or an ability to be used to drain swamps and thereby reduce the risk of malaria. Outside their natural ranges, eucalypts are both lauded for their beneficial economic impact on poor populations and derided for being invasive water-suckers.

Most eucalypts are not tolerant of frost, or only tolerate light frosts down to −5 °C (23 °F); the hardiest are the so-called Snow Gums, such as Eucalyptus pauciflora which is capable of withstanding cold and frost down to about −20 °C (−4 °F). Several other species, especially from the high plateau and mountains of central Tasmania have produced extreme cold-hardy forms and it is seed procured from these genetically hardy strains that are planted for ornament in colder parts of the world.

Due to similar favorable climatic conditions, Eucalyptus plantations have often replaced oak woodlands, for example in California, Spain and Portugal. The resulting monocultures have raised concerns about loss of biological diversity, through loss of acorns that mammals and birds feed on, absence of hollows that in oak trees provide shelter and nesting sites for birds and small mammals and for bee colonies, as well as lack of downed trees in managed plantations. Monarch butterflies use eucalyptus in California for over-wintering, but in some locations have a preference for Monterey pines.

In the 1850s, Eucalyptus trees were introduced to California by Australians during the California Gold Rush. Much of California has a similar climate to parts of Australia. By the early 1900s, thousands of acres of eucalypts were planted with the encouragement of the state government. It was hoped that they would provide a renewable source of timber for construction, furniture making and railroad ties. It was soon found that for the latter purpose eucalyptus was particularly unsuitable, as the ties made from eucalyptus had a tendency to twist while drying, and the dried ties were so tough that it was nearly impossible to hammer rail spikes into them.

The U.S. government is set to approve a request from ArborGen, the genetically engineered (GE) tree research and development giant, for permission to plant 260,000 GE cold tolerant eucalyptus trees in 29 “field trials” across seven southern U.S. states.   Approval of such a large-scale planting of these dangerous flowering GE forest trees in the U.S. is completely unprecedented.  The GE eucalyptus would be allowed to flower and produce seeds, enabling them to potentially escape into native ecosystems and forests.

Eucalyptus is internationally known for their devastating impacts–from invasiveness to wildfires to their ability to worsen droughts.  Additionally, eucalyptus grandis, one of the species in the GE eucalyptus hybrid, is also a known host to Cryptococcus gattii, a fungus that can cause fatal fungal meningitis in people and animals that inhale its spores. In Brazil, eucalyptus plantations are known as ‘green deserts’ because they do not allow anything else to live.

In my opinion, I do noth think that this would be a good idea at all.  There are way too many risks and negative aspects of doing this.  With this plant producing so much oil and having a high risk of catching fire, why would we want to plant this in a warm climate where these risks are pretty much guaranteed to happen?  Also, we have too many "special" plants in the south.  If we were to take an invasive plant, it could possibly kill of many of the unique plant species that make the south special.