Oldgrowth
The JANIS definition for oldgrowth forest is forest where the upper stratum or overstorey is in the late mature to over-mature phase and where the effects of disturbance are negligible.
In a purely ecological sense, oldgrowth eucalypt forest is temporary. All of our forests have been regenerated many times over by wildfire. Wildfire regeneration is responsible for the old growth eucalypt forest we have today. Most of our mature forest would have been young regeneration in 1803 when the first European settlers arrived and it would not have existed when Abel Tasman sailed past in 1642. It is impossible to estimate how much oldgrowth forest once existed as the forests have been subjected to regeneration and regrowth for millennia.
It is estimated Tasmania now has about 1.2M hectares of oldgrowth forest and there are ample reserves of advanced age forest making the transition to the oldgrowth form year by year.
Under the RFA, 86% of Tasmania’s oldgrowth forests on public land are protected for conservation in secure reserves or are otherwise unavailable for timber harvesting. The area of oldgrowth in the reserve system increased from 682,000 hectares prior to the RFA, to 973,000 hectares or 79% after the TCFA. Further additions are planned through the TCFA Forest Conservation Fund program to protect at least 25,000 ha of oldgrowth forest on private land.
On public land, over 96% of the JANIS area reservation targets for oldgrowth in all forest types have been met.