try nd Fores Agriculture, Fisheries a Agriculture, Department of Department Influence of cyclonic winds on the performance of hardwood plantations in tropical north Queensland. A report prepared for the Timber Queensland project: Best Practice Guide for Timber Plantations in Cyclonic Areas. By Alex Lindsay and Geoff Dickinson. Horticulture & Forestry Science, Agri-science Queensland, DAFF, Mareeba, Queensland. Telephone (07) 4048 4600, email
[email protected] June 2012 © State of Queensland, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, 2012. The Queensland Government supports and encourages the dissemination and exchange of its information. The copyright in this publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY) licence. Under this licence you are free, without having to seek permission from DAFF, to use this publication in accordance with the licence terms. You must keep intact the copyright notice and attribute the State of Queensland, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry as the source of the publication. For more information on this licence visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en Influence of cyclonic winds on the performance of hardwood plantations in tropical north Queensland. 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi crossed the far north Queensland coast at Mission Beach on the morning of the 3rd February 2011, shattering the regions newly developing hardwood plantation forestry industry. The path of this cyclone precisely covered the primary areas of recent establishment, destroying thousands of hectares of young eucalyptus trees. The extent of cyclone damage, coupled with the weak domestic and international economy has resulted in a severe decline in industry confidence for the future of timber plantations in this region.