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A breakthrough method for analysing the DNA of centuries-old plant samples has given scientists an edge in combating the spread of invasive plants. Researchers from Monash University and the University of Melbourne found the rapid adaptation of invasive plants is driven by their ability to gain and lose genes, a phenomenon known as ‘copy number variation’. Source: Timberbiz The discovery came while studying the invasive, noxious weed ragweed, which originated in North America before being transported to Europe and Australia. Ragweed is highly invasive, significantly impacting agriculture and a major producer of hay fever-inducing pollen. The research analysed DNA samples from plant samples collected as early as 1830, revealing strikingly similar patterns of adaptation across both native and invasive populations. Lead researcher Jonathan Wilson said the findings suggested the same genetic mechanisms are reused to tackle comparable environmental challenges when they invade a new area. Dr Wilson undertook the research while completing his PhD at Monash University and is now a research fellow at the University of Melbourne. “We developed a new method to detect large gains and losses of DNA, even in old and degraded DNA from museum specimens,” Dr Wilson said. “This allowed us to track the evolution of these large genetic changes during the invasion and uncover evidence that natural selection likely contributed to their spread.” The research also identified the gain or loss of the gene targeted by the herbicide glyphosate, which may provide critical insights into the evolution of herbicide resistance, paving the way for more effective weed management strategies. “This knowledge could be instrumental in developing better strategies to mitigate the spread of invasive weeds,” Dr Wilson said. “This will have a huge impact on our farmers who are constantly dealing with the threat of invasive plants. “In the case of ragweed in particular, it is already a major contributor to hay fever in Europe, and we hope this research will help control the weed before it becomes a big problem in Australia.” Senior researcher, Monash University Associate Professor Kathryn Hodgins, said the findings provide rare insights into how ragweed has rapidly evolved, further illustrating the important role of gene gain and loss in facilitating adaptation. “Gains and losses of genes, or copy number variants, are a key driver of adaptation, yet they are often overlooked in many studies of diverse species due to technical challenges,” Associate Professor Hodgins said. “Our study demonstrates that we can leverage existing datasets to detect these variants, opening the door to important new insights that have largely gone unexplored.”

The results of the business survey of New Zealand Timber Industry Federation members for the quarter to 31 March 2025 indicated a feeling that while the next three months were going to be subdued, possibly with the onset of winter, the longer-term 12-month outlook was more positive with 75% of respondents believing that general business conditions will have improved. Source: Timberbiz Notably however, 17% believed that conditions will have worsened 12 months out. In fact the level of confidence in improved business conditions is lower this time around than the level reported in our survey of 30 September 2024 when 91% of respondents believed that business conditions would have improved 12 months out. In respect of the three months ahead of March, none of the respondents believed that things would improve, the majority, 67%, held the view that things will remain unchanged. More specifically for timber, most respondents expected sales volumes to improve in the year ahead but tempered with only a minority of respondents believing that timber prices would improve.  Most believe prices will remain unchanged. Timber production costs are expected to continue to rise according to 66% of respondents.  Respondents were reasonably bullish on profitability and seemed to be dedicated to maintaining investment in plant and equipment even in difficult times with 41% planning a greater level of investment and 33% planning no change in investment levels.  

There were 48,620 new homes approved for construction in the first quarter of 2025, up by 20.8% on a year earlier. The Australian Bureau of Statistics released its monthly building approvals data for March 2025 for detached houses and multi-units covering all states and territories. Source: Timberbiz “Much of the improvement over the last year has come from multi-unit approvals, which were up by 52.6% on the very low levels a year earlier, while detached approvals are up by a more modest 4.2%,” HIA Senior Economist Tom Devitt said. “Despite the improving numbers over the last year, building approvals are still running at around 180,000 per year, well short of what is required to commence 1.2 million homes over five years. “It is also important to remember that many recent apartment approvals are likely to be ‘faux’ approvals,” he said. “A change in market conditions have meant that a number of apartment projects that were already approved for construction will need to seek re-approval and comply with the new construction code. The higher cost of construction will further impair sales volumes. “There are a very large number of apartments approved for construction across capital cities, but only a small number of these will commence construction. Punitive taxes that effectively exclude certain investors from the market add further time and difficulty in finding buyers for new apartments, even after they have been approved.” Mr Devitt said that multi-unit activity needed to be twice as large as recent levels for the Australian government to achieve its target of 1.2 million new homes over five years. “As it stands, the government is set to fall almost 20% short of its own target and a few interest rate cuts from the RBA won’t be sufficient to increase the supply of homes to meet the 1.2 million target,” he said. Home building approvals in the March quarter 2025, in seasonally adjusted terms, were up by 49.4% in South Australia, followed by Western Australia (+27.3%), New South Wales (+25.8%), Victoria (+22.1%) and Queensland (+0.8%), while Tasmania was down by 12.9%. In original terms, the Northern Territory was up by 81.5% and the Australian Capital Territory was up by 43.8%.

The Allan Government’s Great Outdoors Taskforce will not be recommending the creation of any new national parks across 1.8 million hectares of Victoria’s state forests. Source: The Weekly Times Taskforce chair and former Labor Minister Lisa Neville said the feedback from 185 stakeholder groups and 4149 submissions “made it clear that more impact could be achieved by making recommendations to improve state forest management systems, instead of focusing on changes to land tenure”. “Therefore, the taskforce will not be making any recommendation for large-scale changes to land tenure, including not creating any new national parks,” she said. “Our report will be submitted to the Minister for Environment in mid-2025. The taskforce expects the Minister will then consider a response.” But the taskforce was precluded from investigating 390,000ha of state forest across the Central Highlands, leaving the door open for the government to create a new Great Forest National Park across the region. The future management of the Central Highlands, Strathbogie Ranges and Mirboo North state forests was instead referred to Labor’s Eminent Panel for Community Engagement, which lodged its findings with the government in October last year. Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos is yet to release the panel’s report. In the meantime, Premier Jacinta Allan has promised to introduce legislation later this year to convert 50,000ha of state forest into three new national parks in Victoria’s Central West – Wombat-Lerderderg, Mount Buangor and Pyrenees National Parks. Ms Neville said one of the key messages that came out of the taskforce’s engagement with the community was “the strong connection so many of us have to Victoria’s forests and the underpinning desire to make sure our forests are looked after and enjoyed by all. “There is strong support, and a shared understanding across stakeholders, that we need to manage forests in a way that balances conservation, recreation, and economic opportunities within Victoria.” She said that broadly, the taskforce heard people wanted enduring reform for the management of Victoria’s state forests, including: New leadership and governance models enabling and accelerating local partnerships and multi-stakeholder decision-making. A long-term vision and strategy to manage state forests for multiple values and shared outcomes. Addressing infrastructure and investment gaps for recreation and tourism to build economic resilience Healing country and managing forests in ways that combine conservation science, forest science, local and Indigenous knowledge Education and behaviour change for forest users Closing legislative ‘loopholes’ that could enable the return of native timber harvesting in Victoria Adequate and long-term funding for all of the above. Further information about the progress of the taskforce’s work can be found at https://www.deeca.vic.gov.au/futureforests/future-forests/great-outdoors-taskforce