Delatite Arm Regeneration

The Delatite Arm Regeneration Project
Fact Sheets
Contact Us
Achievements
Research

The Delatite Arm Regeneration Project

The Delatite Arm Regeneration Project involves the Delatite Pine Plantation being progressively revegetated with indigenous species as the pines are harvested. The Delatite Pine Plantation covers an area of 1850ha and was established in the 1950s. The project was initiated due to the land being deemed unsuitable for future plantation use.

As the pines reach commercial maturity they are harvested by Hancock Victorian Plantations for use in construction and paper products. Indigenous seedlings grown from locally collected seed are planted over winter and spring on the harvested areas.

Revegetation of the Delatite Pine Plantation began in September 2001 with 35,000 Blue Gums planted in 12 gullies. Some of the first seedlings planted have reached heights of over twelve metres.

Over one million trees of mixed species have been planted in addition to areas being direct seeded. A further 27,000 are being planted this winter, with over 1300 hectares revegetated. Regular assessment of revegetation areas have shown high survival rates among the planted trees despite some prolonged dry seasons.

Photo: View of the Delatite Pine Plantation

Nearly 1,800 kg of eucalypt seed has also been collected from the local area. The seed is used to propagate seedlings and also for direct seeding operations.

Pine wildlings (self sown pine trees) are an ongoing challenge for the project in both the revegetation areas and in the adjacent forest community.

Fact Sheets

Delatite Arm Regeneration Project [PDF File - 203.6 KB]

Delatite Arm Regeneration Project Update [PDF File - 263.8 KB]

Revegetation of former pine plantation [PDF File - 181.1 KB]

Contact Us

The project team managing the Delatite Arm Regeneration Project work at the Department of Sustainability and Environment office in Mansfield, Victoria. Please contact us if you would like any further information on the project.

Phone: (03) 5733 1200
Fax: (03) 5775 1063
Email: dar.info@dse.vic.gov.au

Achievements

Part of the monitoring program for the Delatite Arm Regeneration Project is permanent photo plots, where a photo is taken from the same vantage point for a revegetated area every six months. The following photos show the progress of one revegetation area, Bee Tree, that was planted in 2002.

	October 2002, this site was planted over winter.
	July 2003
	December 2004
	August 2005
	November 2006
	November 2007
	July 2009

Research

The University of Melbourne ran a Research and Development program as part of the Delatite Arm Regeneration Project. One of the outputs was designed specifically to assist land managers with the practical component of similar revegetation projects: Rehabilitation of former pine plantations - a practitioners manual.

Title Pages

[PDF File - 526.0 KB]
Executive Summary

[PDF File - 12.8 KB]
Table of Contents

[PDF File - 26.0 KB]
Chapters 1 and 2

[PDF File - 242.9 KB]
Chapter 3

[PDF File - 201.8 KB]
Chapter 4

[PDF File - 170.4 KB]
Chapter 5

[PDF File - 118.4 KB]
Chapter 6

[PDF File - 145.7 KB]
Glossary and Bibliography

[PDF File - 24.7 KB]

Rehabilitation of Former Pine Plantations Cover

In addition to the manual, a number of research papers have been published.

Kasel S (2008) Eucalypt establishment on former pine plantations in north east Victoria: an evaluation of revegetation techniques. Ecological Management and Restoration 9, 150-153.
Kasel S, Bennett LT, Tibbits J (2008) Land use influences soil fungal community composition across central Victoria, south-eastern Australia. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 40, 1724-1732.
Bennett LT, Kasel S, Tibbits J (2008) Non-parametric multivariate comparisons of soil fungal composition: sensitivity to thresholds and indications of structural redundancy. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 40, 1601-1611.
Meers TL, Bell T, Enright NJ, Kasel S (2008) Role of plant functional traits in determining vegetation composition of abandoned grazing land in north-eastern Victoria, Australia. Journal of Vegetation Science 19, 515-524.
Kasel S, Bennett LT (2007) Land use history, forest conversion, and soil organic carbon in pine plantations and native forests of south eastern Australia. Geoderma 137, 401-413.

For a copy of these papers or further information please contact Dr Sabine Kasel or visit http:// www.forestscience.unimelb.edu.au/people/staff/sabine_kasel/index.html

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