Sustainable Timber Tasmania ERF project four - Bruny Island environmental planting

Sustainable Timber Tasmania ERF project four - Bruny Island environmental planting is a permanent environmental planting project located on Bruny Island, approximately 60km south of Hobart, Tasmania. Specifically, the project is situated near Adventure Bay on South Bruny Island, in an area locally known as "The Plains." Registered in February 2023, the project covers 136.11 hectares of land that was historically cleared and used for grazing under long-term leases. The proponent, Forestry Tasmania (trading as Sustainable Timber Tasmania), has designated this land within the Permanent Timber Production Zone (PTPZ) for conservation and carbon sequestration rather than timber harvesting.

The project operates under the Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings-FullCAM methodology. This method requires establishing permanent native forests on land that has been clear of forest cover for at least five years. Unlike commercial plantations, these trees cannot be harvested. For this specific project, Sustainable Timber Tasmania is planting native species such as Eucalyptus ovata (Black Gum) and Eucalyptus globulus (Blue Gum) at a stocking density of approximately 600 stems per hectare. This high density is designed to rapidly establish canopy cover and mimic natural forest structures.

Bruny Island features a cool temperate climate. While North Bruny is drier, the project location near Adventure Bay on South Bruny typically experiences moderate to high rainfall (exceeding 850mm annually), which supports robust eucalypt growth. The soils in the region vary but often include clay and sandy loams derived from dolerite, capable of supporting wet sclerophyll forests. A critical aspect of this project is its co-benefit as a biodiversity initiative; the planted species are essential foraging habitat for the critically endangered Swift Parrot. Additionally, the site serves as a research trial for the University of Tasmania to study seed provenance and climate resilience.