Most eucalypt plantations are managed in short rotations (6–8 years) and are established in regions with water and nutritional stresses of varying degrees. The mean annual increment in these regions ranges from 20 to 45 m3 ha−1 y−1 depending on the level of environmental stress. Improving natural resource use efficiency by breeding and matching genotypes to sites and using appropriate site management practices is a key challenge to sustain or increase productivity. Climate change is emerging as a driving force behind many of the current issues facing natural resources, and is likely to intensify the water constraint. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted significant increases in surface air temperatures and decreases in rainfall (with more erratic rainfall patterns) over the tropics and subtropics, affecting drier regions in particular. To be truly sustainable, forest management practices must be environmentally friendly, prevent or reduce land degradation, improve biodiversity and i...