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.
