Plantation Design and Biodiversity Conservation

The views expressed and the conclusions reached in this publication are those of the author and not necessarily those of persons consulted. RIRDC shall not be responsible in any way whatsoever to any person who relies in whole or in part on the contents of this report. iii Foreword Large areas of Australia are dedicated to plantation forestry – both non-native and native tree species. The size of the plantation forest estate is increasing under a range of State and Federal Government initiatives in this arena. Although the primary aim of plantation forests is to produce large quantities of wood for pulp and timber production, there are ways of designing and managing plantation forests to enhance their value for biodiversity conservation. This study, funded under the Joint Venture Agroforestry Program (JVAP), aimed to identify ways to enhance the conservation value of exotic softwood Radiata Pine (Pinus radiata) plantations in southeastern Australia. The work was focussed in the Tumut region of southern New South Wales (NSW). This publication outlines the design of a study which has begun to address key issues of plantation design and management in the Tumut region. It also summarises some of the principles that can be embraced to increase the conservation value of both existing plantation landscapes and new areas targeted for future plantation expansion. This report, a new addition to RIRDC's diverse range of over 700 research publications, forms part of our Agroforestry and Farm Forestry Research and Development program, which aims to integrate sustainable and productive agroforestry within Australian farming systems.