Australia's plantations on the rise

BRS08/LF2706

27 June 2008

The area of Australia’s timber plantations increased by 4.7 per cent in 2007, according to new figures from the Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS).

BRS Executive Director, Dr Colin Grant, said the annual Australia’s Plantations Inventory Update shows plantations now cover more than 1.90 million hectares.

“Plantations now produce about two-thirds of the logs harvested in Australia each year for timber and paper products,” he said.

“They also provide jobs in regional Australia, export income, reduced dependence on imports and significant carbon storage.

“More than one million hectares of the plantations are pines and other softwoods, with eucalypts and other hardwoods covering around 883 000 hectares.

“The 2008 update shows that the total area of Australia’s plantations increased by more than 86 000 hectares in 2007, with private owners accounting for 92 per cent of the growth. Much of this has come about through managed investment schemes,” Dr Grant said.

Investors who bought woodlots in managed schemes now own 33 per cent of all Australia’s timber plantations.

The National Plantation Inventory has been collecting data and reporting on Australia’s plantations since 1993, providing an annual snapshot of plantation areas in each state and territory.

Comprehensive map-based reports are published every five years.

Copies of Australia’s Plantations 2008 Inventory Update and associated reports and data can be downloaded from www.brs.gov.au/plantations, or by contacting BRS on 1800 020 157 or email.

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