Showing papers in "Australian Forestry in 2013"
TL;DR: IOCI 3 Technical Synthesis Report (119 pp) as mentioned in this paper, Summary for Policy Makers (43 pp), and IOCI3 Synthesis report: summary for policy makers (43 p).
Abstract: IOCI 3 Technical Synthesis Report (119 pp.)IOCI 3 Synthesis Report: Summary for Policy Makers (43 pp.)http:////www.ioci.org.au/publications/ioci-stage-3/cat_view/17-ioci-stage-3/23-reports.html Edi...
50 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a brief description of ash regeneration silviculture, a summary of relevant statistics for each of the three fires under consideration and the silvicultural recovery programs are presented.
Abstract: SummaryThe contrasting regeneration outcomes of alpine ash (Eucalyptus delegatensis) and mountain ash (E. regnans) forests (collectively called ash) after the extensive and severe 2003, 2006/07 and 2009 bushfires in Victoria demonstrate the complexity of factors that influence the establishment of ash regeneration after bushfire. About 189 000 ha of ash forest was killed or severely damaged by the three bushfires, which burnt a land area totalling over 2.6 million ha. Silvicultural recovery work included aerial sowing of about 7100 ha of fire-killed regrowth in state forests with about 6400 kg of seed. This regrowth was less than 15–20 years of age and thus too immature to bear effective quantities of seed to achieve natural self-regeneration.This article includes a brief description of ash regeneration silviculture, a summary of relevant statistics for each of the three fires under consideration and the silvicultural recovery programs. Aspects of the recovery programs for the fires, including strategic s...
33 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the temporal dynamics of three accessible bioclimatic parameters (monthly mean diurnal temperature range, monthly mean precipitation and an aridity index derived from evaporation data) were spatially registered with forested areas known to have been affected by this shift towards dryer and hotter conditions.
Abstract: SummaryThe south-west of Western Australia has experienced severe and prolonged drought over the last three decades. This has coincided with forest declines and more recently (following the summer of 2010–2011) sudden stand mortality in the Northern jarrah forest. Over the same period the Southern jarrah and Southern karri forests remained unaffected. The bioclimatic linkage between these localised climatic events and forest responses is key to developing a predictive capability that permits timely interventionist management strategies. We looked at the temporal dynamics of three accessible bioclimatic parameters (monthly mean diurnal temperature range, monthly mean precipitation and an aridity index derived from evaporation data) that were spatially registered with forested areas known to have been affected by this shift towards dryer and hotter conditions. Changes in forest condition were determined by accessing the vegetation fractional-cover data set, freely available from the high temporal resolution...
22 citations
TL;DR: An examination suggests that Australian projects in forestry aid have had significant local and international impact and the profession can justifiably celebrate these successes.
Abstract: The thrust of these contributions was to acknowledge and encourage Australian participation in development assistance activities and serving the basic needs of rural communities, the critical demands for fuelwood and the international role of Australian trees such as species of Eucalyptus, Acacia and Casuarina. A dedicated band of Australian foresters, members of the Institute, has worked hard since that time with the generous support of donor agencies and NGOs with counterparts in countries as culturally and physically diverse as PNG, China, Vietnam and Nepal. Mostly funded through Australian agencies such as ACIAR and AusAID, they have been strongly supported by Australian forest research organisations such as CSIRO, our universities and state forest management agencies. What has happened in the 30 years since 1981, and what have been the consequences of this work? An examination suggests that Australian projects in forestry aid have had significant local and international impact and the profession can justifiably celebrate these successes.
15 citations
TL;DR: Results from 27 plantations established on former pastures showed that site quality influenced height, diameter growth, and live-crown rise in both species, but it influenced maximum branch diameter in E. cloeziana only.
Abstract: Maximising the production of knot-free (clear) wood can be achieved by early removal of branches from the lower crown. Ideally, this is carried out without reducing stem growth or the competitive status of the pruned tree. The decision surrounding the time to prune in Eucalyptus species is influenced by stem- and branch-diameter development, the rate of branch senescence and ejection on the lower stem, the timing of canopy closure and the proportion of leaf area that can be removed before growth is reduced. In this study, the effect of site quality on stem, branch and crown development was examined in 1.5- to 6.5-y-old Eucalyptus pilularis Sm. and E. cloeziana F.Muell. trees from plantations across north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Results from 27 plantations established on former pastures showed that site quality influenced height, diameter growth, and live-crown rise in both species, but it influenced maximum branch diameter in E. cloeziana only. Using regression relationships and threshold valu...
14 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, social values are explored in two forestry decision-making processes with the aim of reflecting on what can be learnt for the design of future processes, including the Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) process, a top-down policy process conducted in ten Australian forest regions in the late 1990s, and the Wombat Community Forest Management (CFM), an example of place-based collaborative management developed for a Victorian state forest from 2002 to 2004.
Abstract: Conflicts at the level of people's deeply-held values about use of native forests present a challenge for decision-makers in countries such as Australia where there are polarised views on such matters. In this paper, social values are explored in two forestry decision-making processes with the aim of reflecting onwhat can be learnt for the design of future processes. The two cases are the Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) process, a top-down policy process conducted in ten Australian forest regions in the late 1990s, and the Wombat Community Forest Management (CFM), an example of place-based collaborative management developed for a Victorian state forest from 2002 to2004. Analysis of these cases identified three areas where further attention is recommended: the design of negotiating criteria that can represent the full range of relevant social values; the choice and development of decision-making approaches suited to incorporation of public values in situations of value conflict; and issues of decentralisat...
13 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the trade-off between storing carbon in forests and providing society with wood products is analyzed using simple models analogous to reservoirs and safes, and the irreversible substitution effect, where emissions are avoided through the use of wood, is shown as analogous to placing avoided emissions in a safe.
Abstract: The exchange of carbon, primarily as the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, between forests and the atmosphere, gives forest managers opportunities to limit greenhouse gas emissions through forest management. Options available to forest managers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions include 1) storing carbon in landscapes, 2) storing carbon in wood products, and 3) providing society with a low-emissions resource (wood products) to substitute for alternative materials associated with larger emissions. To evaluate the trade-off between storing carbon in forests and providing society with wood products, the dynamics of each option must be understood. Here, the above options are explained using simple models analogous to reservoirs and safes. Reservoirs are used to represent dynamic systems, such as forest and wood product carbon stocks, and the irreversible substitution effect, where emissions are avoided through the use of wood, is shown as analogous to placing avoided emissions in a safe.
13 citations
TL;DR: Compared canopy damage categories obtained by aerial sketch-mapping with mean crown damage estimates derived from a systematic, plot-based sampling scheme of a Pinus radiata plantation in Green Hills State Forest in southern New South Wales with a known history of E. californica infestations, the results suggest that it is much more difficult to visually resolve different levels of canopy damage within affected stands.
Abstract: Summary Surveying the location and level of damage by insect pests and diseases, such as canopy damage by the Monterey pine aphid, Essigella californica Essig (Hemiptera: Aphididae), a common defoliating pest of Pinus radiata, is now formally embedded in the management practices of most Australian softwood-growing companies. Aerial surveys, also known as aerial sketch-mapping, are a cost-effective means of mapping broad-scale canopy damage, but their accuracy is dependent on a range of factors including the spatial and temporal expression of symptoms associated with different damaging agents. For E. californica, the most distinctive symptom is yellowing (needle chlorosis) of the crown followed by defoliation of affected needles. The aim of this study was to compare canopy damage categories obtained by aerial sketch-mapping with mean crown damage estimates derived from a systematic, plot-based sampling scheme of a Pinus radiata plantation in Green Hills State Forest in southern New South Wales with a known...
9 citations
TL;DR: This article conducted case studies of two Australian forest plantations to understand how to improve the adoption of community engagement (CE) in the corporate culture of two companies. But no previous studies have detailed the relationship between corporate culture and community engagement adoption within forest companies.
Abstract: This paper provides practical insight into what can be done to improve the adoption of community engagement (CE) in the corporate culture of two Australian forest plantation companies. Previous research has identified that CE can be limited by corporate cultures that promote a narrow range of CE benefits. However, no previous studies have detailed the relationship between corporate culture and CE adoption within forest companies. This research provides an empirical grounding for exploration of the relationship between corporate culture and CE adoption. We undertook case studies of two forest companies to understand how to enhance CE adoption. Interviews were conducted with 19 company staff including field staff, middle managers and senior managers. We found that both companies had some commitment to CE. Many employees believed CE was essential for the ongoing operations of their company. CE adoption, however, was constrained by issues such as a lack of resources and difficulties in discerning when CE was ...
8 citations
TL;DR: The absence of a thinning-age effect on absolute responses suggests that there is some flexibility in the thinning age in E. nitens plantations, and it is important to note that while the absolute thinning response may be slow to decline, the size of the SCTs will be smaller after later-age thinning owing to the extended period of competition they experience prior to thinning.
Abstract: SummaryGrowth rates of trees and stand structure change as stands age, and therefore absolute and relative thinning responses may also vary with thinning age. The study examined whether thinning age influenced the relative and absolute thinning responses in Eucalyptus nitens plantations near Carrajung, Victoria, Australia, and whether this effect was influenced by nitrogen (N) fertiliser application. Two levels of thinning and fertiliser application were applied in a factorial design replicated three times in a randomised block layout in each of two trials established in September 2006 in adjacent plantations aged 3.2 y and 13.2 y respectively and from the same seed source. Treatments included: unthinned or thinned non-commercially from below to 300 trees ha–1; fertiliser treatments were nil or 300 kg ha–1 N as urea in the younger trial and nil or mixed fertiliser supplying 256 kg ha–1 N, 80 kg ha–1 P and 100 kg ha–1 K in the older trial. Five years after thinning, basal areas of the largest 200 sawlog cr...
7 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the meaning of sustainability in relation to forestry and the principles underpinning sustainability and the calculation of sustained yield are examined to see how best they can be assessed in certification schemes, given the complexities of temporal and spatial change.
Abstract: SummaryThis paper aims to provide guidance as to how better to assess sustainability in certification schemes, such as the Australian Forestry Standard, and to provide suggestions for related changes to certification guidelines.The meaning of sustainability in relation to forestry and the principles underpinning sustainability and the calculation of sustained yield are examined to see how best they can be assessed in certification schemes, given the complexities of temporal and spatial change. To be useful in certification, such principles need to be capable of translation into auditable features, be they qualitative or quantitative. They also need to recognise the realities of demand and supply movements, landscape change, natural disasters, technological change and risk management. Forestry Tasmania’s sustainable yield planning provides a case study that illuminates some of these issues, including the associated process of risk management.The sustainability of jointly supplied environmental goods and se...
TL;DR: Data suggested that weaver ants were effective bio-control agents of the two pests of African mahogany, but the yellow looper and bush cricket caused severe damage to the trees.
Abstract: African mahogany, Khaya senegalensis, is a high-value timber tree species. Pilot plantings showed that the species performed well in the wet–dry tropical areas of northern Australia, but the yellow looper, Gymnoscelis sp., and the bush cricket, Myara yabmanna, caused severe damage to the trees. The weaver ant, Oecophylla smaragdina, is an effective bio-control agent of a range of insect pests in tropical tree crops and forest trees. To determine whether the ants control these mahogany pests, field experiments were conducted from April 2006 to January 2009 at two sites near Darwin, Australia. The fraction of the total number of trees damaged per year was 4.2–32.4% by yellow loopers and 0–10.4% by bush crickets on trees with weaver ants, but 25–70.4% by yellow loopers and 25–100% by bush crickets on trees without the ants. The damaged trees with weaver ants were attacked on fewer occasions than damaged trees without the ants. Significantly fewer trees with weaver ants were damaged per monitoring occasion (2...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used available data sets showing the relation between forest age, annual rainfall and water yield from forested catchments to select the best of four models of age-related water yield.
Abstract: Recent drought in Australia has shown the importance of inflow into the Murray–Darling Basin from forested catchments in high-rainfall areas. Concern has been expressed that native forest logging could, by leading to regrowth forests, diminish this inflow. This reflects that at least one eucalypt community has a water use in which regrowth water yield is, for a given annual rainfall, less than that from ‘old-growth’ forest. Available data sets showing the relation between forest age, annual rainfall and water yield from forested catchments were used to select the best of four models of age-related water yield from forests. Commercial forests across the entire Murray Darling Basin were categorised by productivity and by location in rainfall bands. Using assumptions as to the distribution of age classes, the impact of native forest harvesting on water yields was compared with having all ‘old-growth’ in these forests. The results showed that for most of the Murray–Darling Basin, native forest logging would i...
TL;DR: An above-ground flat-panel test was conducted at Innisfail to determine the influence of tree age on natural durability against decay of heartwood of eucalypt species grown in low-rainfall areas, and density was a useful predictor of natural durability.
Abstract: SummaryAn above-ground flat-panel test was conducted at Innisfail to determine the influence of tree age on natural durability against decay of heartwood of eucalypt species grown in low-rainfall areas. After nine years’ exposure, heartwood from trees aged 30–50 or 80+ years had similar natural durabilities in Eucalyptus sideroxylon, Corymbia spp., E. cladocalyx and E. occidentalis. However, except for E. cladocalyx, the heartwood from trees less than 25 years old was less durable than that from older trees for Corymbia spp., E. leucoxylon, E. occidentalis and E. sideroxylon. Density was a useful predictor of natural durability, especially in the lower range that differentiated wood in young trees. The importance of density within the more-mature tree age ranges of 30–50 years and 80+ years was unclear, perhaps showing that a threshold age for the production of mature heartwood had been reached. Comparisons, including with the yardstick species Pinus radiata, E. regnans, E. obliqua and E. camaldulensis, s...
TL;DR: In the past decade alone, mega fires, in 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2009, have burnt around 2.8 million ha of forest and converted hundreds of thousands of hectares to young regrowth forests as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: SummaryTwo decades ago, the Young Eucalypt Report explored management options for young regrowth forests. South-eastern Australia has considerable areas of regrowth forest due to large-scale wildfire and previous timber harvesting. In the past decade alone, mega fires, in 2003, 2006–2007 and 2009, have burnt around 2.8 million ha of forest and converted hundreds of thousands of hectares to young regrowth. This is having, and will have, considerable biodiversity, water, timber production and possibly fire management implications for future forest managers. It is timely to explore some of the consequences of active forest management, in particular, adaptive thinning, within regrowth forest.
TL;DR: In this paper, the Monterey pine aphid, Essigella californica Essig (Hemiptera: Aphididae), was first detected in Australia in 1998 and is now a major damaging agent in Pinus radiata plantations throughout south-eastern Australia.
Abstract: The Monterey pine aphid, Essigella californica Essig (Hemiptera: Aphididae), was first detected in Australia in 1998 and is now a major damaging agent in Pinus radiata plantations throughout south-eastern Australia. Tree-level crown damage was visually assessed over four years, from 2006 to 2009, in 120 plots located in Green Hills State Forest (Hume Region, Forests NSW). The plots represented 30 tree-age classes and a range of related stocking densities. We applied random forests and linear mixed modelling (ASReml) to examine the relationships between crown damage and a series of silvicultural and local climatic and terrain attributes. Consistent with previous observations, our results showed that crown damage due to E. californica is highly variable and is influenced by a suite of interacting and confounding factors. We identified prevailing climatic conditions, stand age and tree genotype as being the most influential, as well as threshold values associated with these relationships. These predictor var...
TL;DR: The University of Adelaide's first degree-level university-affiliated course in Australia was developed by Hugh Corbin this paper as Lecturer in Forestry at the University of South Australia from 1912 to 1925.
Abstract: Hugh Corbin developed the first degree-level university-affiliated forestry course in Australia as Lecturer in Forestry at the University of Adelaide. From its beginnings in 1912 to 1925, the University of Adelaide graduated twenty forestry professionals. Simultaneously Corbin was busy with promotional, consultancy and research work. The future of the school became entwined in the protracted debate over a central forestry school for all Australia. For a time Corbin believed Adelaide would fill this role, but this proved a forlorn hope—in 1925 the Adelaide course closed after it was announced that the Commonwealth Government would fund a new Australian Forestry School, whereupon he departed to become Professor of Forestry at Auckland University College in New Zealand.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: The two-page child protection report, unearthed by police in the archives of the diocese of Manchester, was proof, at last, that a former cathedral choirboy -- alleging years of sexual abuse by one of Britain's most senior clergyman -- was not alone.
Abstract: A SINGLE document was all it took to illuminate a dark secret in the Church of England.
The two-page child protection report, unearthed by police in the archives of the diocese of Manchester, was proof, at last, that a former cathedral choirboy -- alleging years of sexual abuse by one of Britain's most senior clergyman -- was not alone.
There was another boy. Also a solo soprano, on the other side of the world, who was singing from the same hymn sheet about The Very Reverend Robert Waddington. "There had been a previous referral about sexual impropriety some time ago from Australia, where RW had been the headmaster at a school. An ex-pupil had made a complaint to the Bishop of (north) Queensland who had relayed it to the Archbishop (of York)," the 2003 report says.
Eli Ward's family had prompted the secret report when they told church officials, without Ward's knowledge, of the alleged abuse he suffered in the mid-1980s.
TL;DR: This article focused on how the vegetation quality and or size of remnants embedded within the bluegum (Eucalyptus globulus) plantation landscape influence the local ground-dwelling Coleoptera assemblages found within them.
Abstract: SummaryAcross the Green Triangle plantation landscape of south-eastern South Australia and south-western Victoria there remain remnant patches of native vegetation which vary considerably in both size and vegetation quality. This study focused on how the vegetation quality and or size of remnants embedded within the bluegum (Eucalyptus globulus) plantation landscape influence the local ground-dwelling Coleoptera (beetle) assemblages found within them. The aim was to particularise those remnant characteristics (in terms of size and vegetation quality) that are likely to result in the most effective protective management of local remnant beetle biodiversity. Pitfall sampling was carried out over a 13-month period. All beetles sampled via pitfall traps were identified to family level, and the three most abundant beetle families (Carabidae, Staphylinidae and Tenebrionidae) identified to genus. Remnant vegetation was assigned to one of the four quality categories (as defined by the Land for Wildlife (LFW) meth...
TL;DR: A method for generating decay-classification systems was developed for coarse woody debris (CWD) and was easier to implement than systems currently used in Tasmania, with logs being explicitly classified into specific classes without the possibility of character states being split between adjoining classes.
Abstract: A method for generating decay-classification systems was developed for coarse woody debris (CWD). This method was used to generate a decay-classification system for wet eucalypt forest CWD, and trialled on over 120 pieces of CWD sampled from post-logging coupes in southern Tasmania. The developed system was easier to implement than systems currently used in Tasmania, with logs being explicitly classified into specific classes without the possibility of character states being split between adjoining classes. The classes were well-balanced and correlated with age and residual density of the wood. Density variance within the classes was at least as good as the currently-used systems (e.g. mean Coefficient of Variation within classes was 21.3% for new and current systems). The method used to develop the system is transferable to other forest types, and has the flexibility to construct decay-classification systems to suit any predetermined number of classes. The system lends itself to the construction of a dic...
TL;DR: A review of VicForests pre-harvest fauna survey process and targeted monitoring projects, outlining the results and survey effort undertaken over the past year, and how this process has contributed to the conservation of a range of threatened species across eastern Victoria.
Abstract: Biodiversity conservation is a vital part of ecologically sustainable forest management. It is undeniable that the diversity (of genes, species and ecosystems) is fundamental to ecosystem function and therefore forest health. Victoria's state forests are managed in accordance with some of the world's highest standards of forest management. VicForests, which is responsible for native timber harvesting within Victoria's state forests, has developed a threatened species management framework that is complimentary to the existing legislative requirements governing threatened species management across the state. This management framework involves surveying for threatened fauna species in areas available for timber harvest to further improve the management and protection of key threatened species and their habitat. This paper is a review of VicForests pre-harvest fauna survey process and targeted monitoring projects, outlining the results and survey effort undertaken over the past year, and how this process has ...
TL;DR: In this article, a pruning decision support tool that diagrammatically combines results from growing stands and crown reduction trials is presented, showing the pruning schedule, target maximum pruned diameter (PDmax), lower height of the green crown (GCLH), and target retained proportion of the Green Crown (GCRP) are overlaid onto a set of stem-taper curves.
Abstract: SummaryBranch pruning is necessary to produce high-value wood products from eucalypt plantations. Four requirements of an effective and efficient pruning regime for clear-wood production are to (a) restrict the pruned-stem diameter to a specified maximum, (b) ensure only green branches are pruned, (c) remove a proportion of the green crown that allows for continued competitiveness of the pruned trees and (d) minimise the number of pruning interventions. In this paper, we present a pruning decision support tool that diagrammatically combines results from growing stands and crown reduction trials. Elements depicting the pruning schedule, target maximum pruned diameter (PDmax), lower height of the green crown (GCLH) and target retained proportion of the green crown (GCRP) are overlaid onto a set of stem-taper curves. The form diagram was demonstrated using data from two adjacent commercial plantations of Eucalyptus pellita (‘Caravan Hill’ and ‘Fishtail’), established in the same planting season, for solid-wo...