FULL SERVICE FORESTRY MANAGEMENT COMPANY

Plantation Timbers is a full service forestry management company providing;

 -  Assets with Full Due Diligence

 -  Plantation Management and Maintenance

 -  Financial Modeling – Projected Asset Values

 -  GIS Mapping and Property Management Plans

 

 -   Harvesting

Please download our PTG Services Document for detailed information –

PTG Services Document

 

For further information please contact:              

General Manager

Mobile: 0428 230 111

Email: mail@plantationtimbers.com.au

 

REASONS WHY PLANTATIONS ARE SUCH A GOOD INVESTMENT:

PLANTATIONS PROVIDE A GOOD ECONOMIC RETURN

Plantations provide a good economic return to the tree grower which, if managed the correct way, can be more profitable than traditional farming. 

PLANTATIONS PROVIDE SHELTER FOR STOCK

Plantations grown in partnership with traditional farming provide shelter for stock.   Shelter increases productivity by protecting stock from cold winds allowing more energy to be used in meat or wool production.  Plantations also provide shade, which lowers the stress levels of the animals during the hot months again making stock more productive.  Plantations are a great place to put sheep after shearing to prevent losses from adverse weather conditions whilst they acclimatise to having their fleeces removed.

PLANTATIONS PROVIDE EMPLOYMENT FOR RURAL YOUTH

The average farmer is now in their late 50’s and the next generation is not generating enough young farmers to replace those retiring.  Plantations provide opportunities and employment for rural youth in a number of different aspects of the forestry trade such as; plantation establishment, management, harvesting and processing.  Establishment tasks include weed control, site preparation, planting, fertilising, and browsing animal control.  Plantations require management throughout their life providing ongoing employment for local workers through mapping, fire break maintenance, thinning, pruning and insect control.  When plantations are harvested they require people to harvest them, cut the logs, load them onto trucks, transport them to the mill and turn them into their final product.

PLANTATIONS PROVIDE BIODIVERSITY

A large number of plantations are established on previously cleared land.  This forms a significant increase in biodiversity as most of the species that existed on the land will still exist among the new plantation.  In addition plantations provide homes for many birds and animals that would not have existed whilst the land was being used for traditional farming.  Native spiders string their webs between the trees removing insects, and in turn they become food for native birds.  Wombats, kangaroos, wallabies and bandicoots all live amongst plantations, and native grasses and shrubs colonise once the plantations are established and the seed moves in from the surrounding areas.  Plantations, especially those containing eucalypt species are not the monoculture that many people believe.  Plantations provide connecting vegetation between existing native forests for animals to safely pass through as they travel between native vegetation patches.

PLANTATIONS REDUSE SALINITY

A considerable amount of Australia’s native forest has been cleared since European settlement, which as a result has caused a rise in the water table in many areas, bringing salt to the surface and rendering the land useless. Plantations grown in the recharge zones reduce the amount of water flowing through the subsoil system. This helps prevent the water table rising any further.

PLANTATIONS REQUIRE LESS CHEMICALS THAN TRADITIONAL AGRICULTURE

When establishing plantations the process is very intensive.  To achieve the best results for a new plantation it is important to control aggressive weeds in the first 18 months of establishment.  The most effective program to eliminate weeds is to use herbicide applications in this initial period to control the weeds, in doing so it is unlikely that chemicals will be needed to be used again at all.  For most plantations, this means one or two applications in the first 18 months and no more for approximately 10-35 years.  In contrast, to grow crops, the land manager may apply chemicals to control weeds on two occasions every year.  

PLANTATIONS DON'T ACIDIFY THE SOIL

Plantations do not make the soil acidic, and it has been proven on a number of occasions that after the trees are harvested, the land can be turned back into productive farmland.

PLANTATION MANAGEMENT REDUCES FIRE RISKS

As plantations are a very valuable asset to the tree grower, Plantation Timbers undertakes intense management to protect these assets from fire. We prepare and maintain firebreaks around and within plantations to ensure that plantations are kept safe during the fire season.  Plantation Timbers runs a Fire Industry Brigade in the Green Triangle Region offering fire protection to our clients.

PLANTATIONS ABSORB GREENHOUSE GASES

With the community becoming more aware of the effect of greenhouse gases, we are trying to help minimize the effects in any way possible. Plantations are a greenhouse friendly land use. Plantations absorb carbon dioxide (the most significant greenhouse gas) from the atmosphere and store it in the cellulose that makes up wood. One growing tree in a plantation can absorb approximately 7kg of carbon dioxide per year, which equates to around 7 tonnes per hectare. Once the tree is harvested, most of this carbon dioxide stays stored in timber used for paper and other forest products, and will possibly never be returned in the atmosphere.

PLANTATIONS IMPROVE WATER QUALITY

Plantations intercept fast flowing water as it runs through the soil. This hinders the flow of water, and reduces the amount of residue that it carries. This has the effect of improving water quality, and making water run off more evenly. After heavy rain, water will run off cleared land rapidly and will often be dirty and brown. Plantations balance this flow out providing a steady flow of clear, clean water for many days after heavy rain.