Forests NSW and trees on Hunter mines
From the Summer 2007 edition of Bush Telegraph Magazine.
Forests NSW has been working with a variety of partners in the Hunter Valley on enhancing the viability of commercial plantations in the area.
Since the late 1990s, foresters and researchers have been involved in a variety of research trials aimed at assessing the growth potential of hardwoods.
Partners in the initiatives have ranged from other government departments, mine and power station operators and local councils.
Plantations have been established on river flat buffer lands through to reclaimed overburden from open-cut coal mining – each plantation in an area of less than 650 millimetres per year and subject to poor soils and winter frosts.
Each trial has involved different site preparation techniques, tree species, weeding and fertilising techniques.
Research into the effect of biosolids has also been a focus, with excellent results to date as far as tree growth in both height and diameter.
Results of the trials have informed the development of planting programs for commercial-size plantations, such as that to be established on the Old Howick Mine.
With proper establishment and tree management techniques, tree growth can be substantially improved, with staff confident that plantations can be successfully grown for timbers, to create biodiversity corridors for carbon credits or even charcoal and power generation.
Kylie Davies Communications, Wollstonecraft
