Summary
The main problem in integrating wildlife conservation with commercial eucalypt production concerns the wildlife species which need old trees or mature forest as a habitat. This paper discusses possible strategies for resolving the problem.
The three strategies of potential value are:
1. | to leave sufficiently large numbers of old trees on individual coupes | ||||
2. | to manage forests on long rotations, and | ||||
3. | to retain selected areas of old forest with minimal harvesting or for management on very long rotations, managing the remainder for high wood production. |
Existing evidence indicates that the third strategy would generally be most effective from the standpoint of both wildlife conservation and wood production, and it has a proven record in south-eastern Australia. Considerations such as size, shape and distribution of coupes may affect wildlife habitat but for given levels of production they have little bearing on the main problem.