The Forest Products Commission is busy preparing the ground to plant this season’s crop of 3.3 million pine seedlings, to replenish and grow Western Australia’s softwood plantation estate. Source: Timberbiz
Timber harvested from these plantations supplies about 70% of the pine products used in the State’s housing and construction market.
The State Government announced a record $350 million investment in September 2021 to ensure a stable supply of timber for the WA construction industry and increase carbon sequestration opportunities.
To date approximately 3,400 hectares of purchased or under contract land has been added to WA’s softwood plantation estate.
Ahead of planting, the work begins in FPC’s Manjimup Nursery, with year-round operations to ensure seedlings are available to meet the annual seedling requirement.
The genetic selection of the best possible seed stock is thanks to FPC’s successful Pinus radiata breeding program, which builds on over 50 years of scientific research in WA, and more recently through FPC’s membership to Tree Breeding Australia.
