Plantation Types | Current plantation resource | Key plantation issues

Current plantation resource

Since the launch of the Plantations 2020 Vision in 1997, more than 0.8 million hectares of new plantations have been established - a simple average planting rate of around 70,000 hectares per annum.

The majority of these plantings are hardwood (eucalypt) plantations, mostly established with private capital in managed investment scheme (MIS) plantation projects. The planting rate based on these projects has been highly cyclical given frequent changes in the Government regulatory environment.

In the softwood (pine) sector, most planting has been in second rotation forests to replace trees already harvested, with around 90,000 hectares per annum of new pine forests established since 1997.

Of the total plantation resource, around 5% is now contributed directly by farm foresters, with a further 20% contributed by farm foresters participating with industrial growers through leasehold and joint venture arrangements.

Table 1 presents a summary of plantation areas by State and Territory in 2008 (National Plantations Inventory Update , 2009).

Table 1:

Total plantation area, 2006 (hectares)

State/Territory	Hardwood	Softwood	Other categories	Total
ACT	0	7,870	0	7,870
New South Wales	81,667	285,566	2,821	370,054
Northern Territory	27,299	2,239	0	29,538
Queensland	59,298	189,191	2,108	250,597
South Australia	58,426	122,871	457	181,754
Tasmania	217,068	76,972	100	294,140
Victoria	200,739	219,910	1,463	422,122
Western Australia	305,007	109,158	2,305	416,470
Total	949,505	1,013,776	9,254	1,972,535
Source: National Forest Inventory 2009. Australia's Plantations 2009 Inventory Update. Bureau of Rural Sciences, Canberra. brs.gov.au/Plantations

Key regions of Australia suitable for timber plantations.

The Bureau of Rural Science’s Plantation Information Network is an excellent source of information related to plantations.

Plantation Types | Current plantation resource | Key plantation issues

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