Old-growth forest studies in Victoria, Australia Concepts and principles

Abstract

In recent years there has been considerable debate over the management of ‘old-growth’ forests in Australia, although until recently there was no agreed definition that could readily be used to physically delineate such forests. Studies undertaken in the Australian state of Victoria over the last 4 year have developed both a working definition and a methodology for the delineation of old-growth forest that have been efficiently, consistently and objectively applied through standard mapping and survey techniques over large areas. This approach employed data on factors such as forest growth stage, ecological vegetation class, and disturbance to characterise old-growth forest status of all forest according to explicit, ecologically based rules. This approach recognises the dynamic nature of old-growth forest and allows for forest to be recruited into, or excluded from, the old-growth forest domain through time.