Forest Products Industry

The growing role of AI has been widely discussed in society, and it has become a common interest area for science, civil society, and media in recent years. In science, researchers are using AI to map forest lands and monitor degradation and wildlife. Source: Timberbiz In civil society, a number of new startups and NGO initiatives are integrating AI in their tools and programs to, for example, inform field planning for land management practices. Since AI is shaping not only how we conduct our day-to-day work but also the way our society is exposed to forest-related themes, it is an area where science, civil society, and media are urged to explore further its implications. The European Forest Institute (EFI) is arranging a Young Scientists Session on AI and Forests at the EFI Annual Conference on 18 September 2024 in Bonn (Germany), to discuss how AI is used in current forest-related research and on-groundwork and discuss what the scientific and societal implications of AI might be in the forest context. A Hackathon on “Forests and generative AI” on 17 September in Bonn will bring together young forest science researchers, non-profit representatives and media professionals to “explore, experiment and exchange” how AI might impact the way our society perceives and understands forest-related issues. Participants will test how different generative AI text-to-image models interpret complex forest-related subject matter. The results will be presented during the Young Scientists Session on AI and Forests on 18 September. EFI is providing grants of 1,500 euros for Young Scientists from EFI Associate and Affiliate Member organisations to: Participate in person in the Hackathon on “Forests and generative AI” on 17 September in Bonn, and Participate in person in the Young Scientist Session on AI and forests at the EFI Annual Conference on 18 September in Bonn, in particular: support the presentation of the results of the Hackathon give a 10-minute presentation on their own research or project which has involved the use of AI tools, reflecting on the opportunities and challenges the tools offer for forestry research and innovation. Read the full grant call at https://efi.int/grants-training/grants/G-04-2024

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has opened public consultation on a new regulatory framework for the export of non-prescribed agricultural goods. Source: Timberbiz Head of Trade and Regulation, Tina Hutchison said the new framework would help to safeguard market access for exporters. “Australia has a reputation as a reliable supplier of safe and high-quality agricultural products,” Ms Hutchison said. “We want to maintain and enhance that reputation in the face of growing global demand and competition. “The reforms will enable the department to better provide government-to-government assurances and to trace, stop and recall exports if necessary. “They will also allow the department to charge fairly and appropriately for the services it provides, and to allocate costs to those who receive them. Ms Hutchison said improving and simplifying processes would also provide better support for market access negotiations and maintenance. “The new export assurance framework will help to instil greater confidence among our trading partners and further strengthen Australia’s position as a trusted source of premium agricultural products.” Have your say on the proposed reforms here: Export Assurance Reform for non-prescribed goods – Agriculture hub at https://haveyoursay.agriculture.gov.au/export-assurance-reform

The Horoeka Tree Pod, a unique 9-metre-high lantern, is an integral part of the Rotorua Redwoods Treewalk in New Zealand, offering visitors a suspended, immersive experience. Designed by David Trubridge, this structure enhances the walkway, transforming the daylight journey into a magical night time adventure through its integrated lighting. Sources: DesignBoom, David Trubridge Horoeka extended the existing light installation created by David Trubridge in 2016. Utilizing the same design language, it forms a larger, walk-through lit form or pod that integrates seamlessly into the suspended walkway. This pathway, composed of suspension bridges and circular platforms around tree trunks, minimizes ecological disruption. The final attraction, Horoeka, offers an introspective experience contrasting with the expansive nature of the rest of the tree walk. The timber structure of Horoeka harmonizes with the redwood forest, respecting its grandeur and ecological importance. Its cladding pattern mimics the draped leaves of the young lancewood tree (horoeka) found in the forest’s understory. The pod fully encases one platform, standing 9-meters high and weighing three tons. Constructed from 24 segments, each weighing about 130kg, the segments are bolted onto two steel rings, suspended from canvas straps around the tree trunk to avoid drilling into the tree. Each segment comprises CNC-cut panels attached to vertical timber beams. The panels are made from 18mm Tricoya, an outdoor-rated MDF known for its durability, and the vertical beams are Glulam H3.2 ‘visual grade’ radiata pine from Techlam, chosen for its dimensional stability. All wooden parts were manufactured in Hawke’s Bay and assembled in Rotorua, ensuring minimal damage to the forest understory. The steel components, fabricated by Ross MacKay, are galvanized and spray-painted black. Adjustable threaded rods and wooden blocks secure the structure against the tree, preventing movement. Durability was a key concern due to Rotorua’s corrosive sulfurous air and damp forest conditions, demanding a minimum lifespan of 20 years. The existing lights have proven resilient, with no signs of decay or breakages from falling branches. Over time, the Tricoya and pine components turn silver or green and blend into the forest environment, accumulating vegetative growths that integrate the structure by day while it remains a luminous feature by night. David Trubridge Studio‘s main design intent was the seamless integration into the forest landscape.

Planet Ark’s National Tree Day over the weekend had a plethora of events starting with Schools Tree Day on Friday, then National Tree Day on Sunday. According to reports around 300,000 people were involved over that time in planting trees particularly species that are threatened. Source: Timberbiz A State of the Environment report showed that around 1900 species are listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act with a large proportion being plant species. Alongside the schools and communities that celebrated the event by planting trees was environmentalist Jon Dee who is the chair of FSC Australia and New Zealand. He was planting trees with students from AGBU Alexander Primary School in New South Wales. In Tasmania Bushcare volunteers went to the Hobart Rivulet on Sunday to celebrate National Tree Day and planted almost 1000 native trees, shrubs and grasses. The Hobart Rivulet Bushcare group will have put in more than 3500 native plants along the rivulet in just three years. An incredible milestone for the new Bushcare volunteer group. A Bush Adventures activity program was run for the kids. The National Tree Day event is part of work restoring the health of the Hobart Rivulet, removing environmental weeds and replacing them with local native plant species. Bushcare is the City of Hobart’s largest volunteer program, with more than 800 active participants. In just one year alone Bushcare volunteers carried out environmental restoration works worth more than $120 000, helping the City of Hobart rid its bushland parks and reserves of environmental weeds, restoring threatened native grasslands on the Queens Domain and restoring degraded bushland and wildlife habitat. The City of Newcastle celebrated National Tree Day by joining forces with residents to plant 7000 native wetland species at Tarro Reserve. Volunteers dug deep to add a range of grasses, shrubs, and trees to an area of around 1400 square metres, helping to improve the health of the wetland and restore habitat for local fauna. Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said City of Newcastle has targeted areas in the western suburbs that experience hotter temperatures in summer for urban forest planting. “As part of City of Newcastle’s 10-year Environment Strategy we’re aiming for 40% canopy cover by 2045 to help cool our city,” Cr Nelmes said. “That’s why we planted more than 550 new street trees in Beresfield and Tarro in the past year, and also celebrated World Environment Day last month by planting 18 trees and 100 small native plants with students from Beresfield Public School.” Councillor Elizabeth Adamczyk said connecting with local residents to plant trees and learn about nature is a special way to mark the national event. “Today’s event has many benefits including adding to Newcastle’s biodiversity and vegetation cover, reducing urban heat, and beautifying a much-loved public space,” Cr Adamczyk said. “City of Newcastle celebrates National Tree Day at a different location in Newcastle every year, with local schools, community and City of Newcastle staff in 2024 again pitching in to plant thousands of trees to improve our city’s environmental health. Tarro Reserve is a valued community asset, with sports grounds, an off-leash dog area and recreation space for fishing and birdwatching, making it the ideal choice for our planting efforts to celebrate National Tree Day this year.” National Tree Day is just one of many occasions where City of Newcastle staff have pulled on their gardening gloves with the community to help protect and enhance our natural environment this year. During the past 12 months, Landcare volunteers, community members and City of Newcastle projects saw more than 125,000 native plants added to the city along the coast, creek lines, beside wetlands and in bushland.

We’re all familiar with animal disease vectors, such as mosquitoes that spread malaria parasites. The carrier and the disease agent work in a team of two. Pine Wilt Disease is a disease of pine trees. Its spread involves a complex interplay between a trio of characters. Source: Timberbiz In the popular science fiction novel, and now Netflix series, The Three-Body Problem involves celestial bodies the size of planets and suns. Our three-body problem is science, not fiction. It involves three much smaller bodies: a nematode, a fungus and a beetle. (There’s also bacteria involved, but let’s keep things simple for now). The nematode in our story is a tiny roundworm only one millimetre long. It’s called Pine Wood Nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus). You might be able to guess from its names that Pine Wood Nematode is a problem for pine trees. It causes Pine Wilt Disease. When Pine Wilt Nematode is carried to a pine tree by a beetle, it feeds on cells inside the tree and multiplies very rapidly. Billions of nematodes and the tree’s response to them prevent water flow, causing the tree to wilt and die. The nematodes themselves vector strains of blue stain fungi, which can grow inside the tree and provide extra food for the nematodes once the tree dies. Trees killed by the nematodes are attractive to several species of beetles, which breed inside the damaged tree. The nematodes gather in the breeding chambers of the beetles, attach to the bodies of the beetles, and travel with them to new host trees. Dr Dan Huston is a postdoctoral researcher at the Australian National Insect Collection. Dan is so passionate about his work on parasites he named a marine trematode after his baby daughter, Petra. Enenterum petrae is a parasite that lives inside a species of marine fish, the Brassy Drummer. It’s an honour to have a species named after you. Dr Huston said Pine Wood Nematode is native to North America. It can take out a pine tree in as little as six weeks and is a huge threat to timber plantations. But it’s not currently found in Australia. “This nematode is a devastating pest of pine trees around the world and a biosecurity priority for Australia,” Dr Huston said. “It could enter Australia in shipping containers, wood chips or timber palettes. And although we don’t have the same species of beetles here, they may be picked up by a local species, as has happened when it invaded Asia and Europe. “The big problem with protecting Australia from Pine Wood Nematode is that it looks like a lot of other tiny nematodes.” Nematodes live just about everywhere on Earth. They are so abundant that all of them lined up head to tail would stretch across space beyond the home planet of the San-Ti (the aliens in The Three-Body Problem). But most nematodes are so small we don’t even think about them. Dr Huston and his colleague, Dr Mike Hodda, researched and wrote National Diagnostic Protocol for Pine Wood Nematode. It’s a huge achievement that provides the tools and information for Australia to diagnose Pine Wood Nematode. “The diagnostic protocol means that whenever there’s a suspected incursion of Pine Wood Nematode, it can be quickly identified and dealt with,” Dr Huston said. The work relied on specimens of nematodes held in our Australian National Insect Collection. Despite its name, this collection includes many kinds of invertebrates that aren’t insects, like nematodes. “There are lots of harmless native nematodes, many of them without scientific names. They are very difficult to tell apart from Pine Wood Nematode,” Dr Huston said. “We have a reference collection of hundreds of specimens related to this project. They are stored on microscope slides, which lets us zoom in on the details of different species.” Dr Huston is now working on another National Diagnostic Protocol for Cereal, Barley, Oat, Carrot and other Cyst Nematodes, which are destructive quarantine pests of grains and vegetables. Unlike Pine Wood Nematode, Cyst Nematodes live in the soil and severely damage plant roots. Their main vector is humans.

Forest & Wood Products Australia (FWPA) has released a new report, “Housing for the Future and the Contribution of the Timber Industry“as part of its Statistics and Economics Program and recent webinar series to increase understanding of the timber industry’s market potential. Source: Timberbiz FWPA is dedicated to providing the forest and wood products industry with insightful and timely analysis; hence the webinar series and summary report feature contributions from leading experts in the fields of economics, demography, and urban planning, highlighting the collaborative efforts needed to address the ongoing housing challenges in Australia. The report is designed as an overview and discussion starting point for the challenges and opportunities of housing through the lens of the forest and timber industry and its diverse stakeholders. Housing affordability worsened in 2023 when interest rates rose, on average, by 125 basis points. This rise affected many Australians, including mortgage holders, first-home buyers, renters, and builders. Now, as housing demand continues to rise amid a supply shortage, this new report and associated webinar series outline key discussion points around how the timber industry can play a pivotal role in supporting the government targets for new housing construction. The National Housing Accord aims to build 1.2 million homes over the next five years, and the forest and wood products industry is well-positioned to contribute through innovative construction methods and sustainable practices. “The timber industry is known for its association with housing construction. Recent data on ABS building activities and FWPA timber sales volume showed that there was a linear relationship between dwelling approval and sales of timber products.” said FWPA Statistics and Economics Program Manager, Erick Hansnata. The FWPA webinar series and summary report dive into housing issues from the perspectives of the property market, demography, the timber industry, and relevant associations. “The forest and wood products industry has the capacity to help meet targets through innovation and improved approaches to constructing detached houses, units, and low- and mid-rise residences that all store carbon. Applying best practices of modern construction methods, as well as expanded use of sawn timber and engineered wood products are just some of the opportunities our sector can provide for sustainable residential projects.” You can download the report here.

Leader of The Nationals David Littleproud has said the appointment of a new Agriculture Minister won’t change the Albanese Labor Government’s litany of disastrous decisions that have impacted the agricultural sector in just two years. Source: Timberbiz Julie Collins has inherited the agriculture portfolio after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reshuffled his cabinet and moved Senator Murray Watt to Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. “During the past two years, Labor’s agenda has increased taxes, cut funding, abolished industries, and failed to stand up for farmers, which is driving up the cost of living for Australian families at the supermarket checkout,” Mr Littleproud said. “Julie Collins won’t change anything because agriculture is seen as a stepping stone into cabinet for Labor members and Minister Collins will toe the line. “When Julie Collins was last Shadow Minister for Agriculture, she visited farmers outside Tasmania on two occasions over 18 months and could not detail one Labor policy in the election debate. “Julie Collins has no interest in agriculture and has been punished for her poor performance in housing, so now not only farmers will pay but all Australians will pay through higher prices for their food and fibre from a government uninterested in agriculture. “This Labor Government’s treatment of farmers has caused the industry to take an extraordinary vote of no-confidence in this government, Murray Watt and Anthony Albanese which hasn’t been seen for more than 40 years. “Murray Watt and Anthony Albanese’s only lasting accomplishment was to unite ag industries in their disdain for the Albanese Government. “From being slow and weak to take action on major supermarket gouging, to trying to push through a Fresh Food Tax and abolishing the live sheep export industry, this Labor Government has failed farmers time and again, and I call on the new Agriculture Minister to step up in Cabinet and start reversing the wrongs of the past two years.” Mr Littleproud said amongst numerous policy issues impacting the agriculture sector, the 10 first priorities of the new Minister included: Reinstate the live sheep export industry that Labor abolished. Scrap Labor’s Fresh Food Tax, which taxes farmers for the biosecurity risks of foreign competitors. Take action against major supermarkets gouging farmers and families by delivering tougher penalties like divestiture. Reinstate the ag visa that Labor scrapped, and which deprived regional Australia of a critical workforce. Start protecting agricultural land against major renewable and transmission developers under Labor’s reckless race to 82 per cent renewables by 2030. Stand up in Cabinet against Labor’s Water Buybacks that will deprive river communities of food-producing water supplies. Bolster biosecurity measures against threats such as the Red Imported Fire Ants and Varroa Mite. Fix the damage that Labor has done to the PALM Scheme. Stand up against Labor’s financial policies that impact family farming operations, like proposed superannuation changes and financial carbon emission reporting. Advocate in Cabinet for reversing Labor’s cuts and delays to road and rail projects that underpin productivity. “Murray Watt has left a legacy of treating Australian farmers with contempt and ignoring their needs during his time as Agriculture Minister,” Mr Littleproud said. “There won’t be too many farmers sad to see Murray Watt’s departure and if this Labor Government’s track record over the past two years is anything to go by, his successor won’t treat farmers much differently.”

The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) has welcomed the new Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry the Hon Julie Collins, who it says brings a wealth of knowledge to the role having held the portfolios in Opposition, as well as new Assistant Minister the Hon Anthony Chisholm. Source: Timberbiz The AFPA also thanks The Hon Murray Watt for his efforts improving the sector under the Albanese Government, with the rollout of several industry initiatives, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA), Diana Hallam said. “We welcome Minister Julie Collins back to the forestry portfolio where she provided excellent representation for forest industries in the then Albanese Opposition, prior to the 2022 Federal Election. “Julie worked closely with industry on the policy and funding plan that has and is still being delivered for the sector. We look forward to working with Julie Collins and Anthony Chisholm to ensure forest industries realise their potential for the economy, climate and communities,” Ms Hallam said. “Furthermore, Minister Collins comes directly from the Housing portfolio and understands the critical connection between forestry, timber and climate friendly housing. As a Tasmanian also, Minister Collins also appreciates the value of our native, plantation and downstream manufacturing cogs in the forestry sector. “Forest industries also thank Murray Watt for his service since taking the reins in the portfolio following the 2022 Federal Election. As Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister, Murray Watt helped guide the industry through manufacturing and plantation grant processes that were set up, alongside delivery of Australian Forest and Wood Innovations (AFWI) and other initiatives like the Strategic Partnership. “We thank Minister Watt’s diligence and attention to our sector during his time as Minister, as well as his engagement with AFPA and broader industry. “Forest industries in Australia are still in a critical phase with the confluence of different areas of government policy, including climate change, the economy and jobs and of course housing. Forest industries are critical to all of these national and international policy issues. Under new Minister Collins and Assistant Minister Chisholm, we look forward to working further with the Albanese Government on the role our sector can play,” Ms Hallam concluded.