Site Selection for Farm Forestry in Australia
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Site Selection for Farm Forestry in Australia by RJ Harper, TH Booth, PJ Ryan, RJ Gilkes, NJ MKenzie and MF Lewis October 2008 RIRDC Publication No 08/152 RIRDC Project No CAL-4A © 2008 Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation. All rights reserved. ISBN 1 74151 741 9 ISSN 1440-6845 Site Selection for Farm Forestry in Australia Publication No. 08/152 Project No. CAL-4A The information contained in this publication is intended for general use to assist public knowledge and discussion and to help improve the development of sustainable regions. You must not rely on any information contained in this publication without taking specialist advice relevant to your particular circumstances. While reasonable care has been taken in preparing this publication to ensure that information is true and correct, the Commonwealth of Australia gives no assurance as to the accuracy of any information in this publication. The Commonwealth of Australia, the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), the authors or contributors expressly disclaim, to the maximum extent permitted by law, all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any act or omission, or for any consequences of any such act or omission, made in reliance on the contents of this publication, whether or not caused by any negligence on the part of the Commonwealth of Australia, RIRDC, the authors or contributors. The Commonwealth of Australia does not necessarily endorse the views in this publication. This publication is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved. However, wide dissemination is encouraged. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the RIRDC Publications Manager on phone 02 6271 4165 Researcher Contact Details Richard Harper Western Australia Forest Products Commission Locked Bag 888 PERTH BUSINESS CENTRE WA 6849 Phone: 08 9475 8824 Fax: 08 9475 8833 Email: [email protected] In submitting this report, the researcher has agreed to RIRDC publishing this material in its edited form. RIRDC Contact Details Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Level 2, 15 National Circuit BARTON ACT 2600 PO Box 4776 KINGSTON ACT 2604 Phone: 02 6271 4100 Fax: 02 6271 4199 Email: [email protected]. Web: http://www.rirdc.gov.au Published Electronically in October 2008 ii Foreword This report deals with assessing sites for their potential and limitations for growing trees, whether the trees are for timber production, carbon sequestration, recharge reduction, erosion control, wildlife habitat, biofuel or any other purpose. It was developed to suit the needs of farm forestry advisers or consultants and landholders anywhere in Australia, although the emphasis is on southern agricultural regions (another JVAP report —Growing rainforest timber trees: A farm forestry manual for north Queensland —focuses on north-eastern Australia). For the potential benefits of farm forestry to be realised, trees have to grow well. Tree performance (survival and growth) is related to the site’s climate and soil—if trees are planted on inappropriate sites they will grow poorly or die. Similarly, various management decisions (e.g. whether or not to rip the soil, apply fertilisers, which species to select and how closely to plant them) should be based on site conditions. This report is founded on the view that tailoring species choice and management inputs to a site’s requirements will increase the success of the planting and the sustainability of the land use. The report discusses how various site properties influence tree growth, and then describes how to obtain information on them, either from existing sources or by carrying out field surveys. It also illustrates how site information is used in models designed to predict tree growth. This project was funded by the Joint Venture Agroforestry Program (JVAP), which is supported by three R&D Corporations - Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), Land & Water Australia (L&WA), and Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Corporation (FWPRDC). The Murray-Darling Basin Commission (MDBC) also contributed to this project. The R&D Corporations are funded principally by the Australian Government. State and Australian Governments contribute funds to the MDBC. This report is an addition to RIRDC’s diverse range of over 1800 research publications. It forms part of our Agroforestry and Farm Forestry R&D program, which aims to integrate sustainable and productive agroforestry within Australian farming systems. The JVAP, under this program, is managed by RIRDC. Most of our publications are available for viewing, downloading or purchasing online through our website: • downloads at www.rirdc.gov.au/fullreports/index.html • purchases at www.rirdc.gov.au/eshop Peter O’Brien Managing Director Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation iii Authors Trevor H. Booth, CSIRO Forest Biosciences, PO Box E 4008, Kingston, ACT 2604 Robert J. Gilkes, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6907 Richard J. Harper, Forest Products Commission, Locked Bag 888, Perth Business Centre, WA 6849 M. Fay Lewis, Fay Lewis Consulting, PO Box 178, Glen Forrest, WA 6071 Neil J. McKenzie, CSIRO Land and Water, GPO Box 1666, Canberra ACT 2601 Philip J. Ryan, CSIRO Forest Biosciences, PO Box E 4008, Kingston ACT 2604 Acknowledgments We thank the large range of forestry specialists across Australia, within both Government and private businesses, for participating in this project, and in particular those who commented on early drafts. iv Contents Foreword..........................................................................................................................................iii Authors............................................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................... iv Contents ............................................................................................................................................ v Boxes................................................................................................................................................. vi Figures.............................................................................................................................................vii Tables .............................................................................................................................................viii Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ ix Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ ix What the report is about................................................................................................................ ix Who is the report targeted at? ....................................................................................................... ix Background................................................................................................................................... ix Aims/Objectives............................................................................................................................ ix Methods used ................................................................................................................................. x Results x Implications for stakeholders......................................................................................................... x 1. Purpose and Structure of this Report......................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 The need for site evaluation.............................................................................................. 1 1.3 Evaluating sites................................................................................................................. 2 1.4 Using native vegetation to predict site capacity ............................................................... 2 1.5 The intended audience and aims of this report ................................................................. 3 1.6 The site concept ................................................................................................................ 4 1.7 The structure of this report................................................................................................ 5 1.8 Boxes ................................................................................................................................ 7 2. Climate .......................................................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................... 8 2.2 Solar radiation................................................................................................................... 9 2.3 Rainfall ..........................................................................................................................