Since its first description 216 years ago, 40–45% of Australia’s forested land has been cleared for other purposes. Most of this was eucalypt forest in its various forms. This has resulted in two major environmental issues in Australia: the growing salinity of farmlands and soil erosion. Restoration of the eucalypt to its original range is one tactic in combating this land
degradation (Hatton and Nulsen, 1999). Interestingly, eucalypts are often established in degraded environments in exotic locations, replacing native species that can no longer be grown commercially following the degrading of soils