In 2005, South Australia had 167,032 hectares of plantation forests.  Of this 123,804 hectares were softwood, mostly Radiata pine (Pinus radiata). Another 42,568 hectares were hardwood, mostly Tasmanian blue gums (Eucalyptus globulus).

Smaller areas of forest are planted with Red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulenis), Sugar gum (E. cladocalyx), Flooded gum (E. grandis), Swamp Yate (E. occidentalis), Sydney blue gum (E. saligna), Spotted gum (Corymbia maculata), Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) and Cypress (Cupressus spp).

Over 52% (83,000 hectares) of the plantations are contained within government forest reserves managed by ForestrySA.  The rest are owned by private forestry companies or individual landowners. Most plantations are located in the South East but regionally important activities also occur in the Adelaide Hills, Kangaroo Island and the Mid North.

Learn more here - National Forest Inventory

Timber Production and Processing

The South East has an extensive wood processing industry that is the largest regionally-based manufacturing industry in the State. Smaller but locally significant facilities also exist in Adelaide, Mount Lofty Ranges, Mid North and on Kangaroo Island.

Products such as sawlog, particleboard, fibreboard, laminated veneer lumber and woodchips are produced. These supply resources for constructing buildings, furniture, paper, fenceposts and for biofuels.

During 2005/06, South Australia produced 2,361,000 cubic metres of timber worth $144 million (gross value of logs at the mill door or wharf). South Australia's timber and wood processing industries now directly and indirectly employ over 6,600 people and produce more than $1.4 billion of economic activity for the State each year.

Learn more here - ABARE Economics

Native Forests in South Australia

Australia’s governments have agreed that the term “forest” refers to areas where trees grow more than two metres tall and shade more than 20% of the ground. This means that South Australia has more than 10 million hectares of native forests. 

Most of this, however, is found in the lower rainfall areas and consists of relatively short mallee (Eucalyptus spp), sheoak (Allocasuarina spp) and acacia species. These forests form a significant part of the state’s native vegetation. 

South Australia’s native forests are mostly what biologists term dry sclerophyll forests. Sclerophyll means ‘hard-leaved’ and refers to species that have developed drought-resisting leaves with thick cell walls and a cuticle or outer skin. The state does not have certain forest types that occur in eastern or south-west Western Australia, such as wet sclerophyll forests or rainforests. Perhaps surprisingly, South Australia does have more than 21,000 hectares of coastal mangrove forests.

Learn more here - Biodiversity and Conservation

National and Conservation Parks

More than 4 million hectares of South Australia’s forests are contained within National or Conservation Parks and are managed by the Department for Environment and Heritage. These include large outback parks such as Flinders Ranges NP, Gawler Ranges NP and Ngarkat CP. Many parks in higher rainfall areas are also forested including those at Belair NP, Cleland CP and Deep Creek CP. These contain taller forests often dominated by Manna gum (Eucalyptus viminalis), SA blue gum (E. leucoxylon) and Messmate Stringybark (E. obliqua).

Learn more here - National and Conservation Parks  

Native Forest Reserves

More than 24,000 hectares of remnant native vegetation are protected as Native Forest Reserves. These are managed for native flora and fauna conservation and are no longer cut for timber.  They protect valuable areas of tall eucalypt forest and woodland, as well as wetland environments. 

Learn more here - Native Forest Reserves

History of Forestry in South Australia

Because it has few areas with high rainfall, South Australia lacks abundant native forests. Thus, the small area able to provide timber has been in high demand from the time of European settlement. Given these circumstances, South Australia’s successful plantation-based forest industry has been a pioneering development of world forestry significance. 

Forestry in South Australia started late in the 1870s and Wirrabara and Bundaleer Forest Reserves are widely acknowledged as the birthplace of plantation forestry in Australia.

ForestrySA is the custodian of some of the most significant forest heritage sites in Australia. A diverse range of significant buildings, sites and trial plantations are evidence of South Australia's early commitment to developing a sustainable forest industry.

Learn more here - History of Woods and Forests and History of ForestrySA