Australian Forest Profiles

Page Shortcuts

Page Content

Australian Forest Profiles

Forests are complex ecosystems that provide a wide and dynamic array of environmental and socioeconomic benefits and services. They are one of Australia’s greatest natural assets. Both native and plantation forests are highly valued, and provide a range of valuable products and benefits for society, including:

  • habitat for animals and plants 
  • protection for our water catchments
  • wood for housing, furniture and paper products and, therefore,
  • employment and export earnings for Australia.
  • non-wood products, such as honey, wildflowers, foliage, mushrooms and bush foods
  • areas for recreation, such as bushwalking and bird watching, and some forests are major tourist attractions.

To help ensure that all these aspects of our forests are properly managed, we collect, compile and analyse information about various aspects of Australia’s forests.

The Australian Forest Profiles series aims to inform community understanding of these forests and promote discussion of sustainable forest management. They will enlighten community debate about the role, management and future of Australia’s forests and an essential reference for the community. The profiles have been developed with the support of the states and territory agencies. 

The profiles discuss each of the major forest types in Australia — from the eucalypt forests that dominate much of eastern Australia to the mangrove forests that are an important component of our coastal ecosystems. It also includes the plantation forests that now supply most of Australia's wood.

Acacia
Australia has around 955 species of Acacia, making it the nation’s largest genus of flowering plants. The genus is remarkably varied in appearance, habit and location, encompassing species with small creeping forms and trees that can grow as tall as 30 metres.

Callitris
The Callitris genus occurs only in Australia (14 species) and New Caledonia (two species). Australia has more than 2.5 million hectares of callitris forest, which is 2% of its total forest cover.

Casuarina
Commonly called she-oaks because of the similarity of their timber to that of European oaks, casuarinas are a distinctive part of many Australian coastal and riverine landscapes. Australia has 66 species in three genera: six in Casuarina, 59 in Allocasuarina and one in Gymnostoma.

Eucalypts
Eucalypts are iconic Australian forests. Almost all the 700 known eucalypt species are native only to Australia. Eucalypt forests are by far the continent’s most common forest type, covering more than 116 million hectares (79% of Australia’s native forest estate).

Mangroves
Mangroves are important and widespread coastal ecosystems in the intertidal zone of tropical, subtropical and protected temperate coastal rivers, estuaries and bays. Australia has around 980 000 hectares of mangrove forests, which is less than 1% of Australia’s total forest cover.

Melaleuca
Although melaleuca forest makes up only 5% of Australia’s forest area, it is the third most extensive forest type after eucalypts and acacia. There are more than 7.5 million hectares in Australia, almost all being woodland and open forests

Plantations
Australian plantations produce about two-thirds of the nation’s log supply. They dominate the economically important forestry and forest products industries, which generate about $19 billion per year in turnover and employ an estimated 120 000 people.

Rainforests
Australia’s rainforests comprise only about 2% of the country’s total forest area but make a disproportionately large contribution to its biodiversity. Unlike many Australian forest species, rainforest canopy trees do not depend on fire for their regeneration.

Australia’s Forests Summary Brochure
Australia has just over 147 million hectares of native forest and about 1.82 million hectares of plantations. With an estimated 4% of the global forest estate, Australia has the world’s sixth-largest forest area and the fourth-largest area of forest in nature conservation reserves.

Forests of Australia Map
A map of Australia’s 8 forest types.