Determination of rotation length for radiata pine plantations

Abstract

Summary Rotation length in plantation forestry cannot be determined simply on economic or volume criteria alone, or on single stand or forest based analyses. The determination of rotation length should be based on a number of separate analyses which may produce different optima depending on the assumptions used, on differing perceptions and on the circumstances. Different organisations have different objectives and so the rotation length they decide to adopt may well vary between them. Some of the possible alternatives are considered using information from State owned plantations in South Australia and these analyses demonstrate that the appropriate objective rotation length for these forests is of the order of 45 years.