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estry residue removal on some sensitive sites allows for site specific harvesting (and preparation) plans that ensure residues are retained and evenly spread.

NuBalM is also being used to predict the cumulative effects of repeated harvest removals and to calculate how precision nutrition could be used to maintain or increase productivity. Some companies have also begun soil sampling and installing fertiliser trials.

NuBalM can be used to identify sites with greater fertility and that have the capacity to cope with intense harvest residue removal and sites where harvest residues should be retained. Knowing where forestry residues are available for use is vital for planning new forests and new processing plants in New Zealand to utilise forestry biomass in the move towards a carbonneutral bioeconomy. Microbial communities

These trials also provided the framework that supported several novel explorations of the soil microbial community present in New Zealand planted forests, and how their activity might influence tree health and productivity. Site treatments of removing the forest floor, and adding fertilisers at sites low in nutrients, were seen to reduce microbe diversity. These findings have contributed to expanding the scope of research exploring the potential to use the microbiome – microbes intimately connected with trees – to increase the resilience of planted forests to disease, drought and other stresses. Sustainable future forests

New Zealand is the first country to complete and report on a full rotation of the Long Term Site Productivity harvest removal experiments, largely due to the rate at which radiata pine grows in this country. The work supports the pathway to a more sustainable forest industry as the global demand for wood and fibre places greater pressure on forest soils.

The ground-breaking work has added to our understanding of how forest ecosystem nutrient pools change over a rotation and over many rotations. The forest floor has been confirmed as an important store and source of nutrients, particularly on low nutrient sites, where retaining the forest floor is essential to maintain longterm nutrient supply. The monitoring strategies developed and deployed (NuBalM) give the industry new capability to predict critical soil fertility thresholds before they are reached and also to develop site specific management practices to preserve soil fertility and maintain forest productivity.

This work also demonstrates the sustainability of planted forestry in New Zealand, which is essential for public acceptance of commercial forestry, and to meet the requirements of external bodies such as the Forest Stewardship Council.

Funders include the Forest Growers Levy Trust, the New Zealand Forest Owners Association and the New Zealand Farm Forestry Association with historical input from the New Zealand Forest Service and numerous forest companies at the time of establishing and early management of the experiments.

Around 15 percent of New Zealand’s planted radiata pine forests are now in their third or fourth rotation. A consistent supply of nutrients is essential to ensure the longterm productivity, health and sustainability of these forests.

Plantations top carbon storage

ANEW international study in a global scientific journal has recognised plantation trees as the best source for storing carbon and providing climate change mitigation in comparison to other types of tree plantings.

The peer-reviewed Nature Communications journal has published a study that plantation trees deliver almost three times more carbon abatement over 100 years than environmental plantings, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA), Ross Hampton said.

“This study confirms that trees planted for harvesting will deliver more benefits for the environment than trees planted for environmental purposes. The climate implications are significant, up to 269% more carbon is captured by plantation trees and 17% more than achieved by leaving a newly planted fast-growing conifer forest unharvested. “There are programs that provide incentives for farmers to plant biodiversity plantings for carbon purposes but no programs that incentivise farmers to plant plantation trees. This must be rectified, the biggest asset to Australia’s storage of carbon is being left on the sidelines,” he said.

“We already know that when trees are manufactured, they continue to store carbon, now we also know that as plantation trees grow, they store more carbon than any other type of planting. Plantation trees are necessary to fight climate change and move towards net-zero by 2050. “The finding that plantation trees store more carbon than environment trees is a win for all. Plantation trees can store carbon and when ready they can be harvested, this gives both the environment and the grower an additional incentive over environmental plantings.”

“Australia has never needed to plant more trees than right now; it is experiencing a serious supply constraint for timber framing off the back of the current building boom. We need to be doing all we can to ensure that more plantation trees are planted to allow us to build homes that will house future generations of Australians,” Mr Hampton said. See the study at https:// www.nature.com/articles/ s41467-021-24084-x

Scholarships awarded for IFA/AFG conference

•Scholarship recipient Sam, from RMIT University.

Twenty-one Future Foresters and forestry professionals have been awarded scholarships to attend the Institute of Foresters of Australia and Australian Forest Growers National Conference in Launceston from 11 - 14 October 2021.

IFA/AFG President Bob Gordon said the scholarship recipients represented a broad cross-section of the sector and pointed to a bright future for forestry in Australia.

“The recipients of the scholarship are all under 35 years old, from right across the nation, and represent a range of organisations including: DELWP, ACT Parks and Conservation Service, Sustainable Timber Tasmania and VicForests as well as Midway, HVP Plantations, OneFortyOne Plantations and Timberlands Pacific,” he said.

“To have such a broad cross section of the sector represented by up-andcoming forest professionals is a great sign for Australia’s forests, which judging by the quality of applications received are in good hands.”

Students from the University of Tasmania, The University of Melbourne, Southern Cross University and Australian National University also received scholarships.

Excitement for the October conference is already building among the scholarship recipients, who said they were looking forward to learning from and sharing knowledge with industry peers.

“I am thrilled to receive this scholarship to attend the IFA/AFG National Conference this year in Tasmania. I am looking forward to engaging with cutting edge science and learning from a diverse group of forest scientists and land management practitioners,” scholarship recipient Sam, from RMIT University, said.

“I’m excited to be part of the IFA/AFG community and to be able to attend the conference. I have benefitted from many educational field trips hosted by the IFA/ AFG when I was a student,” Jia Yi, ACT Parks and Conservation Service, said.

“As an IFA/AFG member with a strategic communications qualification, I am delighted to have received this scholarship to improve my forest industry knowledge and network, and understand the opportunities which exist to share the forestry story and better engage with the media, our audiences and stakeholders,” Jenna, Sustainable Timber Tasmania, said.

“I’m very excited to be attending the conference this year! I am especially looking forward to hearing about recent advances in the sector and gaining insight into how Tasmania’s forest are managed,” said Bella from OneFortyOne.

IFA/AFG CEO Jacquie Martin said the theme of this year’s conference, Your Forests, Our Future aimed to foster an understanding that all Australians benefit from the nation’s forests.

“Your Forests, our Future highlights that Australia’s forests are for the benefit of everyone. The conference themes include Forests in the face of change: risks and opportunities; Optimising and balancing multiple forest values and People and forests,” Ms Martin said.

“As part of the call for abstracts process which began in February, the IFA/AFG received over 120 abstracts and expressions of interest from field foresters, researchers, students, farmers, communication and technology experts and we have finalised a list of accepted submissions.

“The Conference Committee is now finalising the conference program, which will be released in the coming weeks.”

Jim Wilson, IFA/AFG Conference Convenor said the conference was shaping up to be one of the best yet.

“The calibre of abstracts received has been exceptional, which will translate into a high quality, exciting and stimulating conference program for a broad range of conference participants, whatever their field of interest” he said.

“Keynote speakers we’re particularly looking forward to hearing from include Dr. Victor Steffensen, co-founder of Firesticks Alliance and the National Indigenous Fire Workshop, and Prof. Annette Cowie, Senior Principal Research Scientist from NSW DPI and Adjunct Professor, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England.”

Stanton award for forestry excellence open

Responsible Wood is calling for nominations for this year’s coveted Richard Stanton Memorial Award for Excellence in Forest Management or Chain of Custody.

This is the seventh year of the award which pays tribute to a man who devoted his life to sustainable forest management in Australia and internationally.

Richard Stanton was CEO and national secretary of Australian Forestry Standard Ltd (now Responsible Wood), and had a number of key roles with the Australian Plantation Products and Paper Industry Council, the Australian Paper Industry Council, Plantation Timber Association of Australia, National Association of Forest Industries, and State Forests NSW.

Nominations for the award are open to individuals who have contributed significantly to either forest management or chain-ofcustody certification under the Responsible Wood certification program. The award nominees will be those who have contributed to sustainable forest management under AS4708 or chain of custody under AS4707.

The award is open to, but not restricted to, forest owners and managers; chain-ofcustody certificate holders;