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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has released guidelines for countries outlining how to manage the risks of damaging wildfires, which can threaten people and the environment. Source: Timberbiz Integrated Fire Management Voluntary Guidelines: Principles and strategic actions updates previous FAO fire management voluntary guidelines that were published two decades ago and incorporates new content to address challenges stemming from the current climate crisis. Extreme wildfires are projected to become about 50% more frequent by the end of the century and environmental changes linked to climate change, such as increased drought, high air temperatures and strong winds, are likely to result in hotter, drier, and longer fire seasons. Currently, around 340 million to 370 million hectares of the Earth’s surface are burned by wildfire annually. When these wildfires become extreme, they can adversely affect sustainable development, threaten communities’ livelihoods, and generate large volumes of greenhouse gas emissions. “How we respond to the wildfire challenge is of crucial importance,” said Zhimin Wu, Director of FAO’s Forestry Division, who launched the new edition of the guidelines at a side event during the 9th World Forest Week in Rome. “We must shift our focus from reactive responses to proactive strategies and prioritize prevention and preparedness.” The guidelines emphasize the integrated fire management approach, which involves taking action long before, during, and long after a fire. It also recommends strategic actions to support the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and other local knowledge holders, who contribute valuable, site-specific practices and insights that enhance fire management decisions. Their active engagement is crucial for preventing wildfires, promptly addressing fire outbreaks, and restoring areas devastated by severe burning, according to the publication. Furthermore, the guidelines advocate for gender inclusion in integrated fire management, promoting diverse fire knowledge, innovative management options, and scaling up best practices. Since the initial publication nearly 20 years ago, many countries around the world have used the FAO guidelines to develop public policies and training programs. With the release of the second edition, even more countries are expected to reference and use the resource. New specialized hub benefits from nearly US$5 million in funding to combat wildfires The release of the updated guidelines is the debut activity of the Global Fire Management Hub, which was launched in 2023 by FAO and UNEP. Supported by the governments of Canada, France, Germany, Portugal, the Republic of Korea and the United States of America, the Fire Hub aims to unite the global fire management community and enhance national capacities for implementing integrated fire management strategies. During a side event, the Fire Hub announced that it had benefitted from nearly US$5 million in funding since its launch in a crucial endorsement of its mission to reduce the adverse effects of wildfires on society, landscapes, and the global climate. The funding comes from key partners who have been instrumental in the Fire Hub’s development, including the Canadian Forest Service, the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the Korea Forest Service through the Assuring the Future of Forests with Integrated Risk Management (AFFIRM) Mechanism, the Portuguese Agency for Integrated Rural Fire Management, and the US Forest Service and USAID.

Conservationists have typically focused on pristine tropical rainforests, or those thought to have been relatively untouched by human disturbance. But as these regions are getting rarer, focus is turning to other types of habitats that might still have conservation value. A new study has found that we’ve been underestimating the importance of one such habitat, partially logged forests. Source: Phys org For the past few decades humans have been cutting down rainforests at an alarming rate. Nowhere is this issue more pressing than in Southeast Asia, which has one of the highest rates of deforestation on the planet. Over the past 30 years, the region has lost an area of rainforest around the size of Germany, with loggers still active in many parts. But not all logging is the same. At the one end is clear cutting, removing all the trees and plants to replace them with industries such as agriculture and livestock. But there is also what is known as selective logging, in which loggers will only remove the biggest and most valuable trees while allowing the rest to remain. Yet according to strict definitions, any forest that has been logged is classed as “degraded.” A new study published in the journal Nature is aiming to question this classification. It looked at the diversity of animals and plants found within patches of rainforest on the island of Borneo with varying levels of disturbance. The results showed that forests classed as “degraded” still contained significant amounts of wildlife and should be protected in similar ways to those forests which are considered “intact.” Max Barclay is a curator of beetles at the Natural History Museum who helped to identify and classify the beetles found in each area of forest. “What we’re doing is trying to undermine the notion that there are only two types of forest: intact forest and degraded forest,” Mr Barclay said. “Because often once you’ve got the notion of degraded forest, then companies can say it’s degraded anyway so it doesn’t matter if they cut the rest of it down and make it into a palm oil plantation. “The term ‘degraded’ is a red flag in that it sounds like something disposable because it’s already gone. What we’re trying to argue is that’s not the case.” Rainforests around the globe are known for their extraordinarily high levels of biodiversity. The warm, wet, stable environments mean that a huge range of plant species thrive in the tropical band around the equator. As a result of this, the plants create a platform for a complex and diverse community of animals to live and evolve. This is one of the reasons why the tropics is so rich in wildlife. It is also part of the reason why the land is so desirable to grow crops such as palm oil. But the amount of undisturbed rainforest, known by scientists as “primary” rainforest, is steadily declining as loggers go in to take the oldest and largest trees, and forest is cleared for farming. To look at the impacts on the diversity of animals and plants found in these forests, a team of researchers have been studying plots of rainforest in Sabah, Malaysia. Over a period of 11 years, they collected information on 1,681 species ranging from plants and beetles to spiders and mammals found living across a landscape which contains a which contains various levels of logging intensity. On the one end are those areas which have never been logged and still retain almost 100% of their species, while at the other are those which have been entirely deforested and only contain 1% of their original wildlife. “We were comparing beetle diversity in primary forest and forests in which about 20% of the timber had been extracted and then forests in which more than 80% of the timber had been extracted,” Mr Barclay said. What they found were two thresholds. The first of these showed that forests which had lost around a third of their trees still retained relatively high amounts of wildlife and should be considered of significant conservation value. The second revealed that if two-thirds of trees have been removed then the area would need considerable intervention. The first of these thresholds is the most important. It suggests that conservationists should perhaps think a bit wider when considering which patches of forests to protect and preserve, and that this in turn will help save more of the planet’s biodiversity. “It shouldn’t be as surprising as it is,” Mr Barclay said. “Because if you think about it, the whole of Western Europe and the whole of eastern North America is degraded forest. There is no primary forest left. “Yet we still maintain quite a large percentage of the fauna in the patches of forests that do remain even though none of them are technically ‘intact.'” The hope is that the paper will give policy makers and conservationists the information they need to make more informed decisions that benefit not only the wildlife, but also the people in the communities that depend on these landscapes.

Researchers have identified an entirely new type of wood that does not fit into either category of hardwood or softwood. Source: Timberbiz Scientists from the Sainsbury Laboratory at Cambridge University and Jagiellonian University, Poland made the discovery while undertaking an evolutionary survey of the microscopic structure of wood from some of the world’s most iconic trees and shrubs. They found that Tulip Trees, which are related to magnolias and can grow over 30 metres (100 feet) tall, have a unique type of wood. This discovery may explain why the trees, which diverged from magnolias when earth’s atmospheric CO2 concentrations were relatively low, grow so tall and so fast. This opens new opportunities to improve carbon capture and storage in plantation forests by planting a fast-growing tree more commonly seen in ornamental gardens, or breeding Tulip Tree-like wood into other tree species. The discovery was part of an evolutionary survey of the microscopic structure of wood from 33 tree species from the Cambridge University Botanic Garden’s Living Collections. The survey explored how wood ultrastructure evolved across softwoods (gymnosperms such as pines and conifers) and hardwoods (angiosperms including oak, ash, birch, and eucalypts). The wood samples were collected from trees in the Botanic Garden in coordination with its Collections Coordinator. Fresh samples of wood, deposited in the previous spring growing season, were collected from a selection of trees to reflect the evolutionary history of gymnosperm and angiosperm populations as they diverged and evolved. Using the Sainsbury Laboratory’s low temperature scanning electron microscope (cryo-SEM), the team imaged and measured the size of the nanoscale architecture of secondary cell walls (wood) in their native hydrated state. “We analysed some of the world’s most iconic trees like the Coast Redwood, Wollemi Pine and so-called ‘living fossils’ such as Amborella trichopoda, which is the sole surviving species of a family of plants that was the earliest still existing group to evolve separately from all other flowering plants,” Microscopy Core Facility Manager at the Sainsbury Laboratory, Dr Raymond Wightman, said. “Our survey data has given us new insights into the evolutionary relationships between wood nanostructure and the cell wall composition, which differs across the lineages of angiosperm and gymnosperm plants. Angiosperm cell walls possess characteristic narrower elementary units, called macrofibrils, compared to gymnosperms.” The researchers found the two surviving species of the ancient Liriodendron genus, commonly known as the Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) and Chinese Tulip Tree (Liriodendron chinense) have much larger macrofibrils than their hardwood relatives. Hardwood angiosperm macrofibrils are about 15 nanometres in diameter and faster growing softwood gymnosperm macrofibrils have larger 25 nanometre macrofibrils. Tulip Trees have macrofibrils somewhere in between, measuring 20 nanometres. “We show Liriodendrons have an intermediate macrofibril structure that is significantly different from the structure of either softwood or hardwood. Liriodendrons diverged from Magnolia Trees around 30-50 million years ago, which coincided with a rapid reduction in atmospheric CO2. This might help explain why Tulip Trees are highly effective at carbon storage,” Lead author of the research published in New Phytologist, Dr Jan Łyczakowski from Jagiellonian University, said. The team suspect it is the larger macrofibrils in this ‘midwood’ or ‘accumulator-wood’ that is behind the Tulip Trees’ rapid growth. “Both Tulip Tree species are known to be exceptionally efficient at locking in carbon, and their enlarged macrofibril structure could be an adaptation to help them more readily capture and store larger quantities of carbon when the availability of atmospheric carbon was being reduced. Tulip Trees may end up being useful for carbon capture plantation,” Dr Jan Łyczakowski  said. “Some east Asian countries are already using Liriodendron plantations to efficiently lock in carbon, and we now think this might be related to its novel wood structure.” Liriodendron tulipifera are native to northern America and Liriodendron chinense is a native species of central and southern China and Vietnam. “Despite its importance, we know little about how the structure of wood evolves and adapts to the external environment. We made some key new discoveries in this survey – an entirely novel form of wood ultrastructure never observed before and a family of gymnosperms with angiosperm-like hardwood instead of the typical gymnosperm softwood,” Dr Jan Łyczakowski said. “The main building blocks of wood are the secondary cell walls, and it is the architecture of these cell walls that give wood its density and strength that we rely on for construction. Secondary cell walls are also the largest repository of carbon in the biosphere, which makes it even more important to understand their diversity to further our carbon capture programmes to help mitigate climate change.” This research was funded by the National Science Centre Poland and The Gatsby Charitable Foundation.

The newly established network of Sustainable Agriculture Facilitators will connect stakeholders with others in the industry and share information on sustainable agriculture practices. Source: Timberbiz The facilitators are employed by local National Resource Management organisations funded through the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program and will support the program’s broad climate-smart sustainable agriculture outcomes. Deputy Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Policy, Matt Lowe, said the $40.7 million investment in the network of facilitators, spread across 52 regions Australia-wide, ensures there is a designated point of contact for farmers, landholders and community groups. “We understand there’s a lot of information out there and that support is needed on the ground to ensure everyone has access to the latest and most helpful information,” Mr Lowe said. “The facilitators will provide one-on-one support for farmers and landholders, providing them with available information and funding opportunities, as well as connecting them with others in the industry. “Our industry has made great strides in becoming more sustainable, and this network will further support us in achieving our climate-smart goal. “The facilitators will work closely with our network of Regional Soil Coordinators, also funded through the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program. “Together, the facilitators and Regional Soil Coordinators will ensure our valued stakeholders on the ground have a point of contact on all thing’s climate, sustainability and soil.” The Australian Government established the $302.1 million Climate-Smart Agriculture Program over five years from 2023-24. This program is funded through the Natural Heritage Trust and will drive agricultural sustainability and productivity. For more information visit www.agriculture.gov.au/climate-smart

There were just 163,320 building approvals for new housing in the 2023/24 financial year, the weakest financial year in over a decade. The Australian Bureau of Statistics released its monthly building approvals data for June 2024 for detached houses and multi-units covering all states and territories. Source: Timberbiz “The performance over the last year is a far cry from the 240,000 new homes that the Australian Government wants to see built in each of the next five years,” HIA Senior Economist Tom Devitt said. “New home approvals are down by 18.7% compared with 2021/22, just as the RBA started increasing interest rates,” he said. Residential building approvals have declined by a further 7.8% in 2023/24 compared with the previous financial year. Mr Devitt said that there were 105,920 approvals for detached houses in the past twelve months to June 2024, down by 1.3% on the previous year. This was the second weakest year since 2012/13. “There were also just 57,400 multi-units approved for construction, down by 17.8% on the previous year and the weakest year for higher density housing since 2009/10,” he said. “The last time Australia saw this few new homes approved in a financial year was 2011/12, not coincidentally following the RBA’s last rate hiking cycle. At that point, the RBA had already started dramatically cutting rates again.” Mr Devitt said that performance across different jurisdictions was starting to diverge, with those outside New South Wales and Victoria producing the strongest indicators of a coming recovery. “Western Australia is leading the way with a recovery in residential building approvals,” Mr Devitt said. “The weakness of Australia’s two largest states is due to the high cost of delivering a new home to market in Sydney and Melbourne. “There persists significant uncertainty around the RBA’s battle against inflation. It is up to other policymakers to reduce the cost of construction if Australia were to build sufficient new housing,” he said. “This means easing of tax and regulatory burdens, bringing infrastructure and shovel-ready land to market faster, implementing genuine planning reform and facilitating higher density development in existing suburbs close to jobs and transport.” Total dwelling approvals in the 2023/24 financial year in seasonally adjusted terms increased by 23.3% in Western Australia compared to the previous year. All other states declined, led by New South Wales (-17.8%) and Tasmania (-15.1%), followed by South Australia (-9.9%), Queensland (-8.0%) and Victoria (-6.7%). In original terms, the Australian Capital Territory also increased by 16.8%, while the Northern Territory declined by 38.5%.

In July, Private Forests Tasmania’s CEO, Dr Elizabeth Pietrzykowski, hosted a session at Red Meat Updates about the success story of Chester Farm and its innovative approach to business diversification. Source: Private Forests Tasmania This case study sheds light on the remarkable journey of the Archer family, who have seamlessly integrated forestry within their existing farm enterprise to achieve sustainable growth and resilience. Chester Farm is a Trees on Farm demonstration site with PFT. The below is a snapshot of Andrew Archer’s presentation at Red Meat Updates. Chester Farm: A Model of Diversification Andrew Archer, alongside his brother Sam, manages Chester Partnerships at Chester Farm, one of PFT’s demonstration sites. Chester Farm exemplifies the integration of forestry within an existing farm enterprise, demonstrating how diversification can drive success. In 2018, Andrew and Sam Archer took over the management of Chester Farm from their parents, who had established a successful business. Instead of expanding land holdings due to rising land prices, they decided to intensify their operations. Over the past five years, they have doubled their mid-winter stocking rate, increased cropping activities, and invested significantly in water infrastructure. Forestry Integration Forestry has played a crucial role in Chester Farm’s operations. The Archer family planted pines, which suited their rainfall and soil type, and protected the environment by locking up significant bushland areas and fencing off waterways. “Dad has always had trees in and harvested nitens. We found that pines probably do better in our country,” Andrew said. “So out of the nitens that were harvested, we’ve put most of it back with 92 hectares back into pines and then another 10 hectares to new country.” This integration of trees has provided economic benefits, enhanced biodiversity, and improved animal health. Chester Farm utilised data going back 10-15 years to identify the paddocks that were wind prone or wet as a guide to establish plantations and shelterbelts. “The benefits of trees have been the reduction of erosion, improved stock health, decreased evaporation of the irrigation dams and increased biodiversity,” Andrew said. “I get quite excited about my little critters. We’ve got bandicoots and devils and quolls … and livestock do better with trees. So you might be losing a bit of land, but you’re increasing productivity.” Livestock and Cropping Management Chester Farm has seen substantial growth in its livestock operations. The farm has increased its ewe and cattle numbers, subdivided paddocks for better management, and implemented efficient water reticulation systems. Additionally, the cropping program has expanded with a focus on direct drilling and sustainable practices. Innovations in Practice Chester Farm has embraced various innovations to enhance productivity and sustainability. Comprehensive water management systems, erosion-prone area fencing, and the planting of thousands of trees around irrigation dams have reduced evaporation, improved biodiversity, and made the farm more resilient to environmental challenges. Livestock Management The Archers have focused on improving livestock management through rotational grazing, strategic drenching, and careful breeding practices to maintain herd health. The introduction of composite cattle has improved both productivity and the aesthetics of their herd. Irrigation and Cropping Fully embracing irrigation, Chester Farm has eliminated dryland cropping. The diversification of their crop mix to include chicory, plantain, and clover has proven beneficial for lamb health and growth, supporting their break crop strategy and enhancing soil health while reducing pest issues. Future Outlook Looking ahead, Andrew and Sam Archer are committed to creating sustainable and financially viable farms. They plan to continue refining their practices, focusing on key performance indicators, and making strategic improvements that will benefit the farm in the long term.

More than one million tree seedlings have been successfully planted in Victoria during July, according to the State Government. The plantings are part of the $120 million Gippsland Plantations Investment Program (GPIP) which the government says will see up to 16 million trees planted over the next decade. Source: Timberbiz The seedlings were planted across central Gippsland in partnership with Hancock Victorian Plantations, one of the largest private plantation companies in Australia. The trees will also sequester significant amounts of carbon as they grow and contribute to meeting Victoria’s nation leading emissions reduction targets by removing approximately 7.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next 25 years – the equivalent of removing more than 60,000 cars from the road per year. “More than a million trees in the ground this winter demonstrates the GPIP is well and truly underway, and HVP Plantations is excited to be getting on with the job,” HVP CEO Melanie Cook said. “This is a strong platform for our commitment to deliver a substantial boost for Victoria’s timber supply, while creating a climate-positive outcome and jobs and investment for the local communities in Gippsland.” The GPIP is the single largest investment in plantation establishment in the state’s history. Land purchases and planning approvals began in 2022 with the first plantings starting in 2023. This long-term investment in plantations underpins the government’s commitment to deliver Victoria’s Forestry Transition Program and supports the state’s exit from native forest harvesting. Victoria is Australia’s largest producer of plantation grown timber with an estate over 380,000 hectares or 22% of the national total, with five out of six trees currently harvested across the state now coming from plantations – over time, this investment will make it six out of six. “As Victoria grows there will continue to be very strong demand for plantation timber products. These trees are providing new jobs and opportunities and will be the literal building blocks of our future housing and infrastructure,” Member for Eastern Victoria Tom McIntosh said.

Australia’s forest industries will celebrate National Forestry Day on Tuesday 20 August 2024. On National Forestry Day everyone is encouraged to recognise the excellent work Australia’s forest industries do for us all fighting climate change, supporting the national economy and creating the essential and sustainable products Australians love, need and use every day, Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) CEO, Diana Hallam said. Source: Timberbiz “Australia’s forestry supply chain is responsible for renewable and vital everyday items from timber house-frames to home furnishings and paper and packaging products like cardboard boxes and paper cups. These are climate-friendly items we cannot live without. “We provide 80,000 highly skilled and direct jobs across Australia’s workforce, along with another 100,000 indirect jobs, many in rural and regional areas. The sector contributes $24 billion to the economy annually and is Australia’s 6th largest manufacturing sector. “This year’s National Forestry Day theme is Nature’s Carbon Store which highlights how important the sector is as a climate change solution. As production trees grow they absorb carbon, which then continues to be stored in timber and wood fibre products and the built environment, long after the trees are sustainably harvested. We are a big part of the answer to Australia reaching its net zero goals. “With demand for timber and wood fibre expected to quadruple by 2050, the Australian forest products sector plays a significant role leading the world in sustainable forest management. Our careful environmental management practices are an example to other nations looking to maximise the potential of their forest sectors, through active replanting and prudent regulations. “Whether it’s the timber house-frame inside the walls of your home, the cardboard boxes your latest delivery arrived in, or the hardwood dining table in your living area, without Australia’s sustainable and renewable forest products sector, we wouldn’t have these locally made products. “I strongly encourage everyone across industry and the consumers of all of our wonderful products to celebrate National Forestry Day on Tuesday 20 August,” Diana Hallam concluded.

The misuse of the term native forestry has the potential to unfairly tarnish Tasmania’s sustainable forestry industry, writes Nick Steel. One of the constants in Tasmanian political discourse is the argument around Tasmania’s “native forestry”. It’s a catch-all term loved by the opponents of our industry and is cleverly used to muddy the waters of what we do. Our detractors like to talk about native forestry and old growth forests in parallel, to confuse what native forestry is but that misinformation benefits no one. Vast swaths of forestry in Tasmania comes from hardwood plantations, often held in private estate, yet still subject to some of the world’s most stringent environmental protections. Our naysayers will incorrectly claim this estate, carefully planted and grown as a production crop, is native forestry because of the use of eucalyptus trees. But these are clearly plantations, managed for a range of wood products and environmental benefits. Then there’s our sustainable managed regrowth forests. These are on land specifically earmarked for production forestry, regularly harvested and regenerated again – using seeds harvested from the same forestry coupes to ensure biodiversity. If a managed regrowth forest is left in the ground for longer, this becomes mature forest. It’s not old growth as our detractors would have you believe, but rather production forests which have been left for longer periods. Finally, Tasmania does harvest a small quantity of old growth forests, in land set aside for productions forests and used mostly for special species timber – crucial in traditional industries such as boatbuilding and furniture making. It’s a tiny part of what we do, but it’s an important part of Tasmanian culture. Production forestry makes up only a small fragment of our state, with over two thirds of the state’s forests permanently protected in parks and reserves – and much of the remaining on private property. The small part we harvest each year supports thousands of jobs, scores of regional communities, and helps keep the Tasmanian economy moving. Nick Steel is Chief Executive Officer of the Tasmanian Forest Products Association

FORESTRY NOW 2024 is a State of the Industry Review which includes observations from our political leaders, industry analysts, key investors, processors, national industry leaders, forest managers and more. We believe the time is again right to take a snapshot of where we are and where we may be heading as an industry across the country. FORESTRY NOW provides the platform for that discussion and will be a must-read in the September/October edition of Australian Forest & Timber News.