Private Native Forest Productivity, is it the Key to the Future of Queensland’s Timber Industry?

In SE Queensland the RFA process effectively halved the State Forest production area in south East Queensland and guaranteed a 50,000 m/annum harvest from the remaining area until 2024, a reduction of 43,000 m/annum from the previous decades average harvest. The future of the state’s contribution to hardwood timber production has been shifted to plantation production after this date and the state has funded the establishment of 5,000ha of hardwood plantation in SEQ for sawlog production. $10M has been allocated to sections of the processing industry for plant and equipment technology upgrading. To date however, there has been no state allocation of funds for assessment or productivity enhancement of the private native forest resource, despite this resource supplying more then half the state's annual native forest harvest. Plantation development of non-domesticated species is a high-risk venture and current knowledge of the likely wood quality or quantity produced in the nominated 25-year rotation length is scarce. Private native forest resource will act as an alternative resource, particularly in the early transitional stages of this fledgling industry. With goo