Plantation Types | Current plantation resource | Key plantation issues

Current plantation resource

Since the launch of the Plantations 2020 Vision in 1997, more than half a million hectares of new plantations have been established - a simple average planting rate of around 87,000 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 10,000 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 2006 (National Plantations Inventory, May 2007).

Table 1:

Total plantation area, 2006 (hectares)

State/Territory	Hardwood	Softwood	Other categories	Total
ACT	0	9,500	0	9,500
New South Wales	62,628	280,045	2,821	345,494
Northern Territory	23,481	2,239	0	25,720
Queensland	42,775	187,723	2,108	232,606
South Australia	47,863	124,163	457	172,483
Tasmania	174,030	73,560	100	247,690
Victoria	175,330	218,864	1,463	395,656
Western Australia	281,329	105,053	2,305	388,687
Total	807,437	1,001,147	9,254	1,817,837
Source: National Forest Inventory 2007. Australia's Plantations 2007 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

Top of Page