![\"Sandalwood](\"https:\/\/www.quinessence.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/sandalwood-forest.jpg\")
A collaborative team of West Australian and Sri Lankan scientists have been awarded a Sri Lanka National Research Council Grant to help continue their international study to protect and repopulate the highly threatened sandalwood tree Santalum album.<\/p>\n
Dhanushka says determining the quality of sandalwood is simple as standards have established for many years, but one of the challenges arose when dealing with seedling sample sizes. <\/p>\n
Curtin School of Pharmacy PhD student Dhanushka Sugeeshwara Hettiarachchi says the team will use silviculture to set up a healthy sandalwood population in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n
He says that seeds will be selected from high quality sandalwood trees, rather than a single tree and that these seeds will be planted in nurseries. Being a semi-parasitic species, sandalwood taps the roots of surrounding trees for water and nutrients but photosynthesises independently. Using the study results, seedlings will be established with a proper host-tree species in pots then transferred into the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese silviculture methods are not just for successful seed germination but also for seedling health [and suitable host species] until they are planted with a suitable ground host,\u201d Mr Hettiarachchi says.<\/p>\n
Dhanushka says determining the quality of sandalwood is simple as standards have been established for many years, but one of the challenges arose when dealing with seedling sample sizes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a challenge because the seedling heartwood [sample] size is less than 1g. The main challenge is to use a database to identify the quality of sandalwood essential oils,\u201d Mr Hettiarachchi says.<\/p>\n
There are also plans to introduce the sandalwood to protected reserves and to home gardens of rural villagers in Sri Lanka. Dhanushka says this will benefit the community because \u201c. . . sandalwood is one of the most expensive timbers in the world\u2014it\u2019s considered an asset to have a tree that could provide 100kg of quality heartwood\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a huge boost to the villages as not many crops could yield such an income. Also it\u2019s seen as a long term investment by many people. It\u2019s also common practice in Western Australia and Southern India that sandalwood trees are added to value of a land in estimating the land value.\u201d Hettiarachchi concluded.<\/p>\n
An initial part of the study involving germination method development and host tree establishment was conducted within the Sri Jayewardenepura University. The study is a collaboration involving Sadaharitha Plantations Ltd and Wescorp Sandalwood Pty Ltd.<\/p>\n