Old Growth Forests

Editor: Justin Healey
ISBN 978 1 920801 65 6
Year 2007

Price: $20.95

  

Old Growth Forests
Volume 255, Issues in Society

Forests are among Australia’s greatest natural assets, and perhaps none more so that its old growth forests. Old growth forests are important in the maintenance of biodiversity and ecological functions, and are recognised as having high aesthetic, cultural and natural conservation values. This book examines the current state of forestry and conservation in relation to old growth forests in light of recent federal Government commitments to enhance the protection of both Tasmania’s forests and the state’s forestry industry. Striking a balance between forest conservation, economic and political concerns involves compromise by all those involved. What is the extent of Australia’s forest reserves, and what conservation agreements have been struck between governments and the various interest groups involved? What are the main sticking points in the debate over old growth forests?

Chapter 1  Forests and Conservation
Australia's forests; Old growth forests; Attributes of old growth forests; What is old growth forest?; Australia's forest industry: why are Australia's forests different?; Australian national forest statistics; General overview of Australia's forest industry; Conservation of Australia's forests; Conservation status of old growth forests; Protecting our forest environment; Overview of the Tasmanian Community Forest Agreement; Unions back PM on forests; Welcome deal to save jobs and trees; Rainforests still not out of the woods.

Chapter 2  Old Growth Forest Conservation: The Debate
Wood for the trees; Cut by a splintered argument; Old growth forests: a forest industries briefing; Wood – natural and renewable; Sacred forests, profane ideas; Anti-forestry activism threatens to exacerbate warming and water problems; Conveniently ignoring the facts; Old growth forest – leviathans of the land; Legal forest destruction; Saving Tassie forests: the way forward; Let's create a high-value environment; Green goals shifting on pragmatism and science; A quest for middle ground.

Glossary; Facts and Figures; Additional Resources; Index



FAST FACTS from this volume
  • Climate and soil properties strongly influence the distribution of forests across Australia, although other factors, such as fire history, are also important. As a result of its largely dry climate and the low nutrient status of many soils, Australia is the least forested continent apart from Antarctica.
  • Australia’s native forests are classified at the national level into three crown cover classes: woodland, open and closed. This is determined by measuring the area of ground covered by tree canopies. Woodland forest has a crown cover ranging from 20-50%, open forest has a crown cover ranging from 51-80%, and closed forest ranges from 81-100%.
  • Australia’s forests are classified into six ‘tenure’ or ownership and management categories which determine how the forest can be used: multiple-use forest; nature conservation reserves; private land; leasehold land; other Crown land; and unresolved tenure.
  • Old growth forests are extremely important in the maintenance of biodiversity (fauna, flora and insect diversity) and ecological functions (nutrient and water cycles).
  • Old growth forests are made up of trees of many different ages, sizes and shapes, and their understorey. This is known as structural diversity. For example, big old trees, living and dead, standing or fallen, with hollows of all different shapes and sizes, provide homes (habitat) for a wide variety of species, from cockatoos and possums to mosses and fungi. Regrowth forests are made up of trees that are nearly all the same age, and do not have the structural diversity or variety of habitat found in old growth forest.
  • Australia has the sixth largest area of forest in the world with 4% of the world’s forests, with only Russia (20%), Brazil (12%), Canada (8%), the US (8%) and China (5%) having more.
  • There are 164 million hectares of forest in Australia – covering 21% of the continent. That’s about 12 rugby fields (8.2 hectares) of forest for each Australian, one of the highest areas per person in the world (the world average is 0.6 hectares).
  • Australia’s native forest can be broadly classified into closed forests (which includes rainforests), open forests and woodlands. About 13% of Australia’s 163 million hectares of native forest are in conservation reserves, which compares favourably with a global average of 11%. Only 7% of the land area of total native forest is publicly owned and available for wood production.
  • Of Australia’s 4.6 million hectares of closed forests (including rainforest), 40% are in conservation reserves. And of Australia’s 45.6 million hectares of open forests, 18% are in conservation reserves. These areas of reservation exceed international standards and Australia is internationally regarded as a leader in sustainable forest management practices.
  • In Australia, there are around 1,140 mills, with 75% producing high-value, small-volume hardwood products. The remaining 25% are softwood mills, many at world-scale level of production, producing timber mainly for structural manufacturing.
  • In 2003-2004, Australia produced 1 million m3 of hardwood sawntimber, 3 million m3 of softwood sawn-timber, 3,164 kilotonnes of paper and paperboard products and 2.1 million m3 of wood-based panel products (including plywood, medium density fibre-board and particleboard).
  • In volume terms, Australia has become both a net producer and exporter of timber since 1995. However, in value terms, the cost of wood products imported is higher than the export value, leading to a significant trade deficit in forest products of around $2 billion per year.
  • In 2004-05 imports of forest products totalled A$4.1 billion of which 20% (by value) came from New Zealand, 10% Indonesia and 6% the United States.
  • Australia’s National Plantation Inventory reports that by the end of 2004, over 1.7 million hectares of plantations (1 million hectares of softwood and 715,000 hectares of hardwood) had been established to meet the growing demands for timber and pulpwood for paper products. The majority of new plantings consist of privately funded hardwood plantations. Over 85% of new plantings in 2001 were hardwood.
  • Plantations supply over 70% of Australia’s sawnwood produced in Australia, yet comprise less than 1% of the total forest area.
  • Forest industries are Australia’s second largest manufacturing industry, with an annual turnover of more than $18.1 billion. The industry contributes around 1% to Australia’s Gross Domestic Product; 7% of manufacturing output.
  • Employment in the forest and wood products industry has increased 13% over the past 10 years. The industry directly employs over 83,600 people, including 12,200 people in the forestry and logging sector. Most are employed in manufacturing industries, such as veneer and paper manufacturing.
  • Australian forests produce 25.7 million cubic metres of wood each year – 63% is from plantations and 37% from native forests. More than 1000 mills process this wood to produce: 4.0 million cubic metres of sawnwood; 1.9 million cubic metres of panels; 3.2 million tonnes of paper and paperboard product.
  • Ten Regional Forest Agreements are in place in four Australian States: New South Wales – Eden, North East (Upper and Lower) and Southern NSW regions; Victoria – East Gippsland, Central Highlands, North East, Gippsland and West regions; Western Australia – South-West forest region; and Tasmania (where the RFA covers the State). The RFAs cover regions where commercial timber production is a major native forest use.