Forest Nursery
CAPABILITIES STATEMENT
COMPANY OVERVIEW
Forestry Tasmania is a Tasmanian State Government Business Enterprise that manages
1.5million hectares of State forest for multiple uses and employs over 500 personnel.
The public land managed by Forestry Tasmania includes 830,000ha of native forest that is
available for wood production. There are also 70,000ha of plantations on State forest
comprising 50,000ha of softwood and 20,000ha of hardwood. The expanding plantation
estate is mainly supplied from the company’s large tree seedling nursery at Perth in Tasmania.
Forestry Tasmania has wide-ranging expertise in native forest and plantation silviculture
backed up by a significant and long-standing investment in research and development. The
company’s Seed Centre supplies seed for native forest regeneration and genetically improved
seed for plantation seedlings. The Forest Nursery, Tasmanian Seed Centre and R & D
functions are all managed through the Division of Forest Research and Development (DFRD).
THE FOREST NURSERY
The nursery at Perth is a long established forestry business (ca. 1936) situated on 80 hectares
of land in a prime location next to the South Esk River and well situated for inter/intra state
transport . The property is also used for Seed Orchards, other specialist seed crops, the Seed
Centre and as a regional administrative facility. Being centrally located it is a 2 hour drive
from Hobart, 1 hour from Devonport (Ferry terminal) and 30 minutes from Launceston.
In addition to satisfying the company’s own internal needs the nursery also has a long history
of supplying external customers, from the retail level through local farmers to large plantation
companies. At present, some 6 to 7 million Pinus radiata, Eucalyptus globulus and
Eucalyptus nitens seedlings are grown every season from seed orchard seedstock.
The nursery production systems are highly flexible with a wide range of propagation methods
being utilised. The nursery specialises in large-scale containerised eucalypt seedling and
open-root pine production. In addition, the nursery also undertakes the growing of other
species for customers with specific requirements.
Staff at the nursery are also experienced in providing technical advice both in the local market
and overseas.
What the Nursery can offer a Client
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the capacity to grow very large numbers of containerised Eucalyptus species or bare-root
Pinus species from high genetic value seed to specification and at a competitive price
experience with growing a wide variety of containerised and bare-root plants for both
large-scale and amenity planting
a flexible approach to seedling specification, delivery times and delivery methods
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frost-hardened seedlings
the use of standardised operating procedures and quality control systems to help ensure
product ordered meets standards required
an efficient dispatch and delivery service
experience in supplying seedlings to large plantations clients throughout Australia
the knowledge that a client is dealing with a supplier with long industry experience,
supported by up-to-date in-house technical advice from the Division of Forest Research
& Development (see below)
the option of comprehensive after-sales support in plant establishment
consultancy services
THE DIVISION OF FOREST RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Forestry Tasmania invests heavily in research and development to ensure sustainability,
improve productivity and enhance profitability from the Native Forest and Plantation estate.
The research division (DFRD) has been in existence for over 30 years, employing some 40
staff. As well as carrying out research in collaboration with many academic and other
institutions over 30% of staff time is spent extending R&D results and technical advice into
field operations. Key activities include:
ƒ Forest conservation and silvicultural research to improve operational performance.
ƒ Development of sustainable harvesting and regeneration techniques for native forests and
plantations.
ƒ Research and operational skills in establishing and managing eucalypt, pine and
blackwood species - with an emphasis on growing for high quality solid wood products
ƒ Plantation establishment and management
ƒ Control of pest and diseases and forest health monitoring
ƒ Consultancy
Staff have extensive experience in providing training and operational advice to internal and
external clients in areas such as harvesting, seedbed preparation, sowing, remedial treatments,
pre-commercial thinning, commercial thinning, pruning and potential sawlog retention. They
have also developed manuals, standard operating procedures and quality assessment protocols
for these operations.
TO CONTACT THE FOREST NURSERY:
Forest Nursery Manager
Forestry Tasmania
15960 Midlands Highway
Perth
Tasmania 7300
Australia
Tel: 03 6391 6300
Fax: 03 6391 6304
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.forestrytas.com.au
International: +61 3 6391 6300
International: +61 3 6391 6304
Follow links to Nursery and Seed Centre