INTEGRATED UTILIZATION IN AN OVERMATURE MIXED-SPECIES FOOTHILLS FOREST

SUMMARY

In Boola Boola State 'Forest in eastern Victoria, an integrated logging operation carried out by the A.P.M. Forests Proprietary Limited, is rehabilitating selectively cut-over stands which now consist mainly of large overmature and defective trees. The volume of mill logs per acre is too low for an economic operation for these alone, but the integrated operation is producing about 220,000 cu. ft per annum of mill logs together with 1,300,000 cu. ft of pulpwood. Per acre yields are mill logs 200 cu. ft, pulpwood logs 700 cu. ft, and pulpwood billets 500 cu. ft.

Utilization of the stand is sufficiently complete to encourage adequate regeneration and permit a satisfactory growth rate of the new crop. On regrowth areas which were given follow-up silvicultural treatment in the post-depression years, a pulpwood thinning operation is now playing a useful part in forest management.