Introduction

Introduction

Use of the term 'old-growth forest' has come to prominence in recent years as conservation and resource issues have captured the attention of the public and governments around the world. Within Australia the widespread modification and loss of forest ecosystems since European occupation has led to a concern that old forests are now rare and diminishing, yet there has been no generally accepted definition of 'old-growth forest' and little has been known of the extent and distribution of remaining 'old-growth forest' (Resource Assessment Commission, 1992).

The Resource Assessment Commission (RAC) Forest and Timber Inquiry in its final report in 1992 made specific recommendations about old-growth forest. The RAC saw the need for appropriate definitions and consistent management principles to be part of a national forest strategy which should include the following elements:

a clarification of the distinction between ecologically mature forests, negligibly disturbed forest, and old-growth forests
an acceptance of the urgent need for Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments to conduct a systematic and comprehensive survey and inventory of unlogged and ecologically mature forests to identify old-growth attributes and determine the extent of old-growth forest.

In the National Forest Policy Statement (Commonwealth of Australia 1992) - NFPS, one of the measures to be undertaken to ensure the community obtains a balanced return from all forest uses was to establish a comprehensive, adequate and representative reserve system which will protect old-growth forest, wilderness and biodiversity.

Towards this end, comprehensive regional assessments are being undertaken to provide the Commonwealth and State Governments with the information required to make long-term decisions about forest use and management, and the process would conclude with a Regional Forest Agreement setting out the obligations of the respective governments in relation to each forest region. The study of old-growth forests in the Central Highlands forest region described in this report has been completed in accordance with these NFPS commitments and is a prerequisite to the establishment of a Regional Forest Agreement.

The NFPS also outlined an agreed approach for conserving and managing old-growth forest which included the following elements:

The relevant State agencies will, as a matter of high priority undertake assessments of forests for conservation values, including old-growth values.
For old-growth forest, the nature conservation reserve system will be the primary means of protection, supported by complementary management outside reserves.
The relevant management agencies will develop management plans to appropriately protect old-growth forest.

The first comprehensive assessment of old-growth forest in Australia was completed in East Gippsland (Woodgate et al 1994). That study developed working definitions of old-growth forest together with a standard methodology for assessing and mapping forest of different age and vegetation classes. These have become the benchmarks for a further series of regional old-growth forest studies in Victoria. The outcomes of the old-growth forest study in the Central Highlands, completed in 1994, is the focus of this report.

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Forests