sustainable forest management - Forestry Tasmania

2007/08 PERFORMANCE SUMMARY
Below is an overview of Forestry Tasmania’s performance
for 2007/08. This is as measured against our sustainable
forest management performance objective and targets.
A more comprehensive summary of our detailed trend
data is available in Appendix one.
✓ Positive performance as based on progress against
our targets and indicators.
X More effort is required to improve our performance.
Biological diversity
✓ On 1 June 2007, Forestry Tasmania announced the
end to the practice of converting native forests to
plantations. This announcement exceeded the target
set by the Tasmanian Community Forest Agreement
to phase out conversion of native forests on public
land by 2010.
✓ Good progress continues to be made in the
development of alternatives to clearfelling. In
2007/08, partial logging, including variable retention
contributed to 67 per cent (1424 hectares) of the
total oldgrowth area harvested (2114 hectares).
✓ Four research projects were undertaken that
specifically covered threatened species (flora and
fauna).
Productive capacity
✓ A total of 304,000 m 3 of high quality sawlog was
supplied to Forestry Tasmania’s customers. This
volume is within the sustainable production level as
was confirmed by the preparation of the 2007 fiveyearly
review of sustainable high quality eucalypt
sawlog supply from Tasmanian state forest as
required under Clause 98 of the Tasmanian Regional
Forest Agreement (RFA).
✓ An additional 3179 hectares of hardwood
plantation was created bringing the total hardwood
plantation estate to 52,718 hectares.
✓ Out of the 10,207 hectares of native forest
regenerated, 98.1 per cent (10,010 hectares) met the
prescribed standard.
X 8400 ha (3100 hectares of clearfelled area and 5300
hectares of partially harvested area) was treated
for site preparation. 89 per cent of this area (94 per
cent of clearfell and 86 per cent partial harvest areas
respectively) achieved the site preparation quality
standard. This reflects a slight decrease of four per
cent on the previous year’s achievement.
✓ 141 hectares of commercial native forest thinning
was completed, 133 hectares of which met the
quality standard. This is an achievement rate of 94
per cent and compares highly favourably with the
five-year average of 50 per cent.
X In the 2007/08 year, 3387 hectares was sown with
eucalypt seed. 1435 ha (42 per cent) of this area
achieved the seed provenance quality standard.
This is a six per cent decrease when compared
with the five-year average of 48 per cent of area
achieving the standard. The main cause of not
achieving the desired standard was as a result of
insufficient on-site seed being available.
X From the post logging residue assessments
conducted in 93 harvesting areas, the standard of
less than five merchantable tonnes per hectares was
achieved in 92 per cent of the areas sampled. This
represents a five per cent decrease on last year’s
performance.
Ecosystem health and services
✓ Following the cessation of the use of 1080, native
forests managed by Forestry Tasmania are generally
chemical free, as pesticides (herbicides, insecticides
and fungicides) are only used in exceptional cases
where introduced weeds, pests and disease pose an
unacceptable risk to the environment.
✓ For commercial eucalypt and pine plantations,
pesticides are required to reduce weed and pest
infestations to acceptable levels. All of the 139 water
samples collected and submitted for independent
testing following the application of pesticides were
free of chemicals.
X The ratio of Spinosad (Forestry Tasmania’s preferred
organic insecticide used instead of cypermethrin) has
shown an unfavourable decline over the past three
years. In other words, the area treated with Spinosad
over the three-year period 2005/06 to 2007/08 was 29
per cent, three per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively.
✓ Through correlation of the days on which Forestry
Tasmania was conducting planned burns, it is unlikely
any of these high intensity burns contributed to
the Air Quality Particulate Standard (PM 10 ) being
exceeded.