Our forests
Most of Queensland’s state-owned native forests are comparatively slow growing. With around 3 million hectares of state forests and a similar area on other tenures, Queensland’s state-owned native forests contain substantial forest resources.
Our native forest timber resources occur mainly in 2 broad forest types:
- eucalypt forest and woodland along the Queensland coast and in southern mid-west and northern Queensland
- white-cypress-pine open forest and woodlands located west of the Great Dividing Range in the southern areas of the state.
Growth rates and timber volumes in the wetter hardwood forests closer to the coast are usually higher due to generally more favourable conditions.
In the drier western forests, growth rates and volumes tend to be lower.
The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries does not manage timber plantations. While much of Queensland’s plantation estate is on state forest land, these plantations are owned and managed by a private company, HQPlantations. These plantations are mostly pine. When they reach maturity, they are usually clear felled (meaning all trees removed from a chosen area). This is similar to other agricultural crops that are planted in rows and harvested. Plantation grown timber is used for a range of products, including framing, plywood and sawn timber used for interior design.
