Radiata pine

This document is part of a series of four guidance reports that cover topics related to small-scale farm forestry, private native forestry, and Indigenous managed forest lands. Learn more about the other reports and documents via this link.

Radiata pine (Pinus radiata) is arguably Australia’s most important plantation forestry species. It is grown extensively through southern Australia and underpins the country’s housing construction sector. It is also important for the manufacture of panels (such as medium density fibre board and flooring) and mass timber (such as cross-laminated and glue laminated beams, as well as for paper and packaging (e.g. newsprint and cardboard).

There are about 707,000 ha of radiata pine plantations in Australia (about 40% of the total plantation area and 70% of softwood plantation area)(ABARES, 2022). Its commercial distribution in Australia is concentrated in key regions, including southern New South Wales, Victoria, south-east South Australia, Tasmania and south-west Western Australia. It is an important industrial plantation species but is also widely adopted by smaller-scale forest owners and farm foresters in discrete plantings, shelterbelts and other agroforestry configurations.

Overview

Radiata pine (Pinus radiata) is arguably Australia’s most important plantation forestry species. It is grown extensively through southern Australia and underpins the country’s housing construction sector. It is also important for the manufacture of panels (such as medium density fibre board and flooring) and mass timber (such as cross-laminated and glue laminated beams, as well as for paper and packaging (e.g. newsprint and cardboard).

There are about 707,000 ha of radiata pine plantations in Australia (about 40% of the total plantation area and 70%

of softwood plantation area)(ABARES, 2022). Its commercial distribution in Australia is concentrated in key regions, including southern New South Wales, Victoria, south-east South Australia, Tasmania and south-west Western Australia. It is an important industrial plantation species but is also widely adopted by smaller-scale forest owners and farm foresters in discrete plantings, shelterbelts and other agroforestry configurations.

Species characteristics

Radiata pine is a fast-growing softwood species that was introduced from north America in the 1850s. It is tolerant of a wide range of conditions across the moderate rainfall zone of temperate Australia. It is usually grown over a 30 to 35-year rotation and produces timber suitable for a diverse range of products, supporting major processing facilities throughout

its range in Australia. It grows to heights of 30-45 m over a typical commercial rotation length (Forestry Corporation of NSW, 2016). Under most growing conditions it produces straight stems with little taper, narrow crowns and small diameter branches. Its form can deteriorate on highly fertile ex-pasture sites and care needs to be taken to apply appropriate remediation in these conditions. Mean annual increment ranges from 10 to 30 m3/ha/yr (Clarke, 2008) but the normal range is 16-21 m3/ha/yr in most sites with appropriate silvicultural regimes (Legg et al, 2021).

Table 1: Environmental requirements for radiata pine

Current estate extent and location

Radiata pine was first established as a plantation species in Australia in 1876 at Bundaleer in South Australia (DAF, 2008). Expansion of commercial plantations began in the 1920s, driven by Australia’s desire to develop self- reliance for construction timber. There was a major acceleration during the 1960s and 1970s when the Australian Government offered low-interest loans to the States to increase plantation areas. Its commercial distribution is concentrated in New South Wales and Victoria (see Figure 1). Outside Australia, radiata pine is one of the most widely grown plantation species, with extensive estates in New Zealand, Chile and Spain.

Figure 1: Distribution of radiata pine plantations in Australia (ABARES, 2021)

Wood products and markets

Radiata pine is a general purpose timber used in a wide range of applications, including structural timber, flooring, lining, glue laminated beams, panels, poles, posts, landscaping, pulp and paper. The timber is white to pale yellow with a straight grain and low density, strength and durability. Strength properties are improved with seasoning. Preservative treatment is needed for exterior and in ground uses (WoodSolutions).

There are strong domestic markets for most radiata pine products in eastern and Western Australia. Processors include a variety of sawmills and secondary processors, panel manufacturers, treatment plants. In several regions, including southern New South Wales, Gippsland (Victoria) and Tasmania, pulp and paper mills produce newsprint, brown paper and packaging. Woodchips and logs are exported from ports in Western Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Queensland. In some regions, post-harvest residues that have historically been heaped and burnt are now being collected for biomass and panel markets. The species is also grown for ornamental Christmas trees using intensive specialist pruning techniques.

Ecosystem services and community benefits

Radiata pine plantations provide similar ecosystem benefits to plantations of other species, including shade and shelter, generation of carbon credits and wildlife habitat. Pine plantations can be integrated with agricultural enterprises as woodlots, shelterbelts or in other agroforestry configurations. Strategically placed plantings benefit pasture and crop growth and improve growing conditions for livestock by providing shade, shelter or refuge. When grown in wide-spaced configurations, the species develops large branches. For this reason, farm foresters often favour pruning strategies that produce clear wood, rather than unpruned regimes applied by industrial plantation owners.

There are several opportunities for pine plantations to generate Australian Carbon Credit Units under the Carbon Farming Initiative – Plantation Forestry. These include:

1. The establishment of new plantations on non-forested or wetland areas.
2. The decision to continue a plantation rather than convert it to another land use because the opportunity to participate in the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) makes it viable to continue managing the land as a plantation.
3. Converting from a short-rotation plantation of another species to long-rotation radiata pine.
4. Transition of the plantation to permanent forest.

Although pine plantations are exotic, research has established that they provide foraging and nesting habitat for a range of birds, small mammals and invertebrates. These plantations support wildlife populations by extending habitat around native vegetation remnants and providing landscape connectivity (Lindenmayer & Hobbs, 2007).

Risks and their management

Radiata pine plantations are subject to a range of common risks associated with forestry in Australia, including fire

and climatic extremes; neighbourhood issues relating to chemical spraying; streamflow, noise, dust and amenity issues; and unsuitable local road infrastructure. Species-specific forest health risks and weediness are also worth noting.

The species is vulnerable to several established pests and diseases, including sirex wasp, Monterey pine aphid and five spined bark beetle, spring needle cast, diplodia canker and dothistroma needle blight. Outbreaks are associated with drought or other plantation stressors and can cause death, defoliation and damage to wood properties. Resistant genetic stock is available for spring needle cast and dothistroma needle blight. Thinning and biological control assists to reduce the impacts of most pests and diseases, and dothistroma can also be chemically treated (Australian Government, 2018). Routine monitoring and timely control is important in preventing spread and minimising impacts.

The spread of pine wildings from plantations into adjacent native vegetation is a significant environmental issue if not properly managed. Radiata pine seed is readily dispersed by wind and establishment accelerates after fire (Williams and Wardle, 2007). Regular monitoring and removal of wildings from vulnerable plantation boundaries is essential to prevent them spreading into and degrading surrounding native ecosystems.

Management practices

Commercially viable area

The minimum commercially viable area for harvest is typically 10-15 ha that is close to markets with no significant access and harvest challenges. Larger areas are required to achieve economies of scale for more challenging sites and those that are further from markets.

Establishment and management

A basic radiata pine silvicultural regime involves the following steps.

Site preparation

As a minimum, site preparation involves removal of vegetation along the planting lines. Ripping may be required if there is dense bracken or a clay layer within 1 m of the surface. Mounding may be required if the site is wet.

Pre-plant weed control

Generally broadacre weed control, using either ground based or aerial spreading. Spot weed control can also be applied

but is labour intensive.

Planting of seedlings

Planting is usually by hand in winter to early spring in southern Australia and during the wet season in Queensland,

when soils are moist but not waterlogged. Radiata pine plantations are usually planted at close spacings (1,000-1,200/ha) to ensure trees grow straight with thin branches. However, a 750-1,600 stems/ha range is common, depending on the site and the owner’s objectives. Stocking may vary depending on the intended thinning regime. Specific genetics may be used on high-fertility and pathogen-prone sites.

Establishment fertiliser

Nitrogen and phosphorus or trace elements may be applied on sites with nutritional deficiency.

Regular monitoring

Plantings are monitored for browsing damage, insects, disease and weed competition, which may trigger treatment responses.

Mid rotation inventory

Trees are measured to monitor diameter, height and volume growth and determine optimal thinning rates.

Thinning

Thinning during the rotation removes less-productive trees and focuses growth on the final crop. It may include non- commercial thinning (prior to 12 years). The first thinning is usually not targeted at specific trees; it involves the removal of rows of trees (for example, every fifth row). Subsequent thinning is usually selective to retain better trees and maintain an even spacing. Fertiliser may be applied following thinning.

Pre-harvest inventory

An estimate of potential harvest volume assists with marketing of products and determining contract rates for harvest and haulage.

Clearfell

Final harvest at the end of the rotation.

Post-harvest site treatment

Slash treatment such as chopper rolling, heaping and possibly burning.

Thinning regimes

To maintain productive growth, forest health and wind-firmness, plantations are usually thinned up to three times prior to clearfell. This also provides financial returns throughout the rotation. Thinning regimes will depend on available markets and product specifications, distance to market, tree form and site-specific factors such as steepness and rockiness. Production thinning provides early rotation returns to the grower. Unthinned regimes are often applied on

sites with very steep or rocky terrain, very small sites and sites that are distant from markets. In these cases, thinning may

not be logistically possible or financially viable. The following thinning and harvest regimes are typical for radiata pine plantations in Australia (Table 2).

Table 2: Treatment age for various thinning regimes for a standard rotation length. (Source: Legg et al. 2021)

Plantation productivity

Productivity varies considerably both within and between regions. It depends on factors such as the genetic quality of the trees, the quality of plantation establishment, soils, climate and the nature of management interventions (silvicultural regimes). Plantation productivity is usually described in terms of growth rate (mean annual increment) over the plantation

rotation, and is presented in yield tables, which quantify how much volume of particular products will be harvested at each silvicultural event. ABARES has developed a suite of regionally relevant yield tables as a guide to radiata pine productivity in various regions in Australia (refer to Table 3).

See downloadable PDF for Table

Further information and advice

ABARES (2022) Australian Plantation Statistics 2022 Update Tables.

Montreal Process Implementation Group for Australia and National Forest Inventory Steering Committee (2018)

Australia’s State of the Forests Report 2018, ABARES, Canberra, December.

Clark, B., McLeod, I and Vercoe, T. (2008) Trees for farm forestry: 22 promising species, March 2009. RIRDC Publication No 09/015, RIRDC Project No CSF-56A.

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (undated) https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/soil-salinity/salinity-tolerance-plants-agriculture-and-revegetation, Government of Western Australia.

Department of Primary Industries (undated) Map User Notes: Farm tree species (Eucalyptus globulus, Eucalyptus nitens and Pinus radiata) Suitability Map, Tasmanian Government.

Forestry Corporation of NSW (2016) Radiata pine ‘the remarkable pine’. Forest Fact No. 04 Edition 3 – 03/2016.

Legg, P., Frakes, I. and Gavran, M. (2021) Australian plantation statistics and log availability report 2021. ABARES research report, Canberra, October.

VicForests (2022)

https://www.vicforests.com.au/vicforest-forest-management/farmforestry/information-sheets/radiata-pine

Williams, M.C. and Wardle, G.M. (2007) Pinus radiata invasion in Australia: Identifying key knowledge gaps and research directions, Austral Ecology 32(7):721-732, October 2007.

WoodSolutions website (undated) https://www.woodsolutions.com.au/wood-species.