Indicator 1.3b: Native forest and plantations of indigenous timber species which have genetic resource conservation mechanisms in place (2024)

• There are 129 tree species and hybrids listed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations as forest genetic resources for Australia.
• All 115 Australian native species and hybrids listed by the FAO as forest genetic resources for Australia have populations conserved in situ in formal and informal reserves and protected areas across Australia.
• Australia’s seed banks hold seed for 127 of the 129 native and non-native species and hybrids listed by the FAO as forest genetic resources for Australia.

In situ conservation of forest biodiversity, whether in protected areas such as nature conservation reserves and national parks, in multiple-use public native forests or on privately managed land, is the primary mechanism for conservation of forest genetic resources in Australia. The genetic diversity of species populations conserved in native forests also underpins plant breeding strategies and ex situ conservation actions.

There are 131.5 million hectares of native forests in Australia (see Indicator 1.1a). Of this, 48.9 million hectares are managed for protection of biodiversity by various mechanisms (see Indicator 1.1c). Australia’s native forests contain 13,788 native forest-dwelling vascular plants, including tree, shrub and groundcover species (see Indicator 1.2a), 983 of which are listed as threatened under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) (see Indicator 1.2b).

There are 129 tree species and hybrids listed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as forest genetic resources for Australia, of which 115 are native (Lott and Read 2021). All these 115 native species and hybrids have populations conserved in situ in formal and informal reserves and protected areas, and some of these species are also formally protected under legislation. A total of 17 native species on the FAO list of forest genetic resources for Australia are listed as threatened under the EPBC Act, with conservation advice or recovery plans in place to support their conservation and recovery.

Unregulated disturbance can threaten the genetic diversity of forest-dwelling species managed in situ. State governments have guidelines and management plans for conserving the genetic diversity of species of commercial significance during wood harvesting in native forests, including the requirements for maintaining local gene pools and the approximate composition and spatial distribution of all species. As examples:

• In Tasmania, codes of forest practice specify that harvested native forest is regenerated or re-sown with a species mix that approximates the natural mix of canopy trees present before harvest, and seed is to be sourced either from the stand to be harvested or from the nearest similar ecological zone (‘seed zone’). Management plans may include specifications for selection of seed from elite or plus trees of good form and health (FPA 2020).
• In Western Australia, silvicultural guidelines specify the seed sources to be used in the rehabilitation of log landings within all harvested coupes and in areas cleared for bauxite mining in jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forest (Conservation Commission of Western Australia 2013).

Ex situ conservation complements in situ conservation through botanic gardens, seed banks, provenance or clonal plantings, seed orchards, seed production areas and other types of conservation plantings. Ex situ conservation is applied to species under genetic improvement for wood production, and to species for which genetic diversity is threatened in native forests.

• Australia’s seed banks hold seed for 127 of the 129 native and non-native species and hybrids listed by FAO as forest genetic resources for Australia.
• Millennium Seed Bank Partnership has the goal of banking the world’s flora in the Millennium Seed Bank, England. As of 1 January 2021, the Australian Seed Bank Partnership has contributed 12,300 collections of seed to the Millennium Seed Bank, including forest species.
• A national collection of seeds of more than 770 tree and shrub species including more than 230 Acacia, 17 Allocasuarina, 10 Casuarina, 24 Corymbia, 295 Eucalyptus and 36 Melaleuca species is maintained by the Australian Tree Seed Centre.
• Seed Production Areas are areas planted with native plants in order to harvest seed, generally for environmental or biodiversity plantings (Baker 2021). Greening Australia’s largest Seed Production Area has provided seed for 150 understorey species used for restoration of grassy woodlands, largely on cleared agricultural land.
• Nindethana Australian Seeds has collected for sale seeds of a wide range of native species, including forest tree and understorey species.

Plant Germplasm Conservation Guidelines (Martyn Yenson et al. 2021) and Translocation Guidelines (Commander et al. 2018) present best practice in seed collection, handling and storage, tissue culture, cryopreservation and restoration plantings. Following best practice ensures that good quality seed from known and appropriate locations and parentage is used in conservation plantings, including choosing material that anticipates climate change.

Conservation collection should aim to include as many sites (provenances) as possible across the geographic distribution of a species to maximise capturing genetic variation and genes important for adaptation to a changing climate. Equally important is a good understanding of species ecology (such as fertilisation process and plant-pollinator interaction, pest and disease, and germination and seedling establishment requirements) to enhance species distribution modelling and identify refugia under future climate scenarios. Acquiring this knowledge is important to support management decisions for various in situ conservation activities, as well as strategies to source and maintain collections for ex situ conservation, to ultimately enhance the effectiveness of overall genetic conservation in the face of climate change. Indicator 1.3a provides further information on threats to genetic diversity.

Australia's forest genetic resources play an important role in maintaining and improving plantation forest productivity by conserving the original genetic variation in species, and through providing source material from which desirable traits can be observed and selected. Selection of desirable traits include tree genotypes of higher growth rate and improved wood quality, that are better adapted to projected warmer and drier climate conditions, or that are resistant or tolerant to existing as well as novel pests and diseases (Byrne et al. 2013).

A substantial proportion of the genetic base of Australian native forest trees used in commercial plantations is conserved in forest reserves. In addition, much of the genetic base has also been brought into seed collections, tree improvement and breeding programs, and seed orchards (plantations specifically planted and managed for seed production). 

In commercial forestry, seed orchards and clonal stock hedges are planted and managed to produce quantities of improved seed and cuttings for tree breeding and plantation establishment (Radke 2006). A large number of seed orchards have been established across Australia (see Table 1.3b-4 in Supporting information for Indicator 1.3b).

Seed collections for research and commercial purposes (wild-collected seed or improved through tree breeding) are available for seven plantation genera grown for timber (or essential oils) in Australia: Acacia, Araucaria, Casuarina, Corymbia, Eucalyptus, Grevillea and Santalum (Table 1.3b-1 in Supporting information for Indicator 1.3b).

Active tree-breeding and/or improvement programs exist for more than 30 native wood-producing and oil‑producing species including 4 Corymbia species, 18 Eucalyptus species, 1 Grevillea species and 3 Santalum species. Information on varieties, provenance (locality), or parentage of the seed and the organisations that manage the programs are presented in Table 1.3b-2 in Supporting information for Indicator 1.3b.

Tree improvement trials for main species under active management in Australia include silvertop or shining gum (Eucalyptus nitens), blackbutt (E. pilularis) and three sandalwood species (Table 1.3b-3 in Supporting information for Indicator 1.3b). Seed orchards are established for various plantation species including for blue gum (E. globulus) (Table 1.3b-4 in Supporting information for Indicator 1.3b).

Since the previous update of this indicator in Australia’s State of the Forest Report 2018, tree breeding programs for Australia’s main wood plantation species (E. globulus, E. nitens, Corymbia species, other selected eucalypts and Santalum spicatum) have continued. These tree improvement programs are maintained by various forestry and government agencies (Table 1.3b-2 in Supporting information for Indicator 1.3b). Some new eucalypt seed orchards have been established, while several orchards have been lost due to fire or land use changes (e.g. for E. botryoides, E. sieberi and E. tricarpa). More details are given in Lott and Read (2021).

Southern (Tasmanian) blue gum and shining gum 

Tree Breeding Australia (formerly the Southern Tree Breeding Association) runs a cooperative national tree improvement program for southern (Tasmanian) blue gum (E. globulus) and provides a database and quantitative analytical services for shining gum (E. nitens) and other plantation species. Some important parts of the genetic material for E. globulus and E. nitens are now held only in existing Australian plantations and special-purpose field trials.

Sustainable Timber Tasmania and its predecessors have maintained a E. nitens breeding program for 40 years (Hamilton et al. 2008), producing seed and seedlings for sawlog plantations. Sustainable Timber Tasmania is also a member of Tree Breeding Australia’s breeding program for E. globulus. Forico also manages a breeding program for E. nitens in Tasmania.

Grafted trees of E. globulus have been planted in the National Genetic Resource Centre for plantation forestry at Mount Gambier, South Australia, which was launched in August 2005 with support from the Australian and South Australian governments. Control-pollinated E. globulus seed is collected and stored in seed banks or seed storage facilities, and diversity is maintained in numerous field trials spread across temperate Australia. The TREEPLAN® genetic evaluation system is being used to update genetic values for E. globulus and E. nitens.

Gympie messmate and spotted gums

The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries manages a range of seed orchards for producing improved seeds of Eucalyptus and Corymbia. Current tree breeding and improvement research is focused on Gympie messmate (E. cloeziana) and spotted gums (C. citriodora ssp. citriodora, C. citriodora ssp. variegata, C. henryi and C. torelliana) and on determining species susceptibility to myrtle rust (Puccinia psidii). 

Blackbutt

The Forestry Corporation of New South Wales manages two seed orchards of blackbutt (E. pilularis) that have been retained from a previous tree improvement and breeding program. Seed is collected from the historic blackbutt seed orchards, and a register of plus trees (naturally occurring trees with desirable traits such as form and vigour) is maintained. 

Sandalwood

Sandalwood plantations in Australia comprise Indian sandalwood (Santalum album, using introduced provenances from India, Timor and Indonesia rather than native provenances) and, more recently, Australian sandalwood (S. spicatum). In Western Australia, the Forest Products Commission and private industry have an active breeding program to improve selections of S. album and S. spicatum for productivity and oil yield. Seed of S. spicatum is harvested from native stands and increasingly from cultivated stands in the Western Australian wheatbelt (see also Table 1.3b-1 in Supporting information for Indicator 1.3b). 

In Queensland, the University of the Sunshine Coast has established an initial trial of the Queensland native species northern or Cape York sandalwood (S. lanceolatum).

Hoop pine

HQPlantations in Queensland manage three clonal seed orchards of hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii) that have been retained from a previous tree improvement and breeding program, and is actively developing two more based on the grafting of previously selected clones. Several clone bank facilities are maintained, while others are disappearing as the surrounding plantation compartment is harvested. A register of plus (superior) trees is kept.

Information on the genetic diversity and genetic structure of species can be used to inform species management, tree improvement programs, conservation policy, and conservation activities. More than 80 Australian forest tree species have been examined over the past four decades for population genetic variation using molecular or non‑molecular techniques (Lott and Read 2021).

The Genomics for Australian Plants Framework Initiative is an integrated network of researchers, data specialists, and state and national government agencies collaborating in the collection, management, dissemination and application of genomic data for Australian plants.

Investigation of the genetic basis of environmental plantings, and genetic variability of forest tree species regarding adaptation to climate change, can inform tree breeding strategies:

• Eucalyptus salubris, E. tricarpa and E. loxophleba ssp. lissophloia are widespread eucalypts with some capacity to respond to a changing climate, but targeted selection of seed sources to match projected climate changes may confer even greater climate resilience (Byrne et al. 2013).  
• Over the last fifty years, E. gunnii ssp. divaricata in Tasmania has experienced extensive dieback and a shift in its regeneration niche to deeper soils, potentially as a result of an increase in maximum temperatures and a reduction in late summer/autumn rainfall. Provenance differences in response are under investigation (Prober et al. 2016).

Genomic data is being used to survey genetic variation that correlates with climate variables, to assist climate change-appropriate provenance selection. As examples, Jordan et al. (2017) found evidence of genomic adaptation to climate in E. microcarpa, while Butler et al. (2022) concluded that over 50% of the current distribution of E. globulus will be outside its modelled adaptive climatic range by 2070.

A national project commenced in December 2018 to map the genomes of Australian native plants to better understand and conserve the country’s unique flora and support decision making. The initial pilot includes Australia’s floral emblem, Acacia pycnantha (McLay et al. 2022).

There are international conventions or agreements directly and indirectly relevant to genetic resource conservation (Lott and Read 2021). Australia has adopted domestic measures for genetic resource conservation and management consistent with the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization. This protocol establishes a framework that helps researchers and developers access genetic resources, and share benefits from genetic resources with the provider country. Indigenous and local communities may receive benefits through a legal framework that respects the value of traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources.

Some native forest species from Australia are a dominant part of the hardwood plantation industry in other countries. Australia collaborates with tree breeding scientists and forestry organisations in other countries, particularly those with similar climates or where Australian species are planted.

• The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries is collaborating with South Africa and Brazil on Corymbia species that are suitable for plantations in a range of ecosystems such as savannah and cerrado.
• The Forestry Program of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) funds international collaborative projects in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Pacific islands, Vietnam, Laos, Nepal and Eastern Africa that address priority timber development themes, including germplasm conservation, improvement and distribution, and forest restoration, management and protection.
• The web-based genetic evaluation platform of Tree Breeding Australia also services tree breeding programs in China, France and Sweden, fostering international collaboration between tree breeding scientists on advanced-generation plantation species.

Baker E (2021). Australian native seed production in 2021. Project Phoenix, Greening Australia, Melbourne.

Butler JB, Harrison PA, Vaillancourt RE, Steane DA, Tibbits JFG, Potts BM (2022). Climate adaptation, drought susceptibility, and genomic-informed predictions of future climate refugia for the Australian forest tree Eucalyptus globulus. Forests 13: 575. doi.org/10.3390/f13040575

Byrne M, Prober SM, McLean EH, Steane DA, Stock WD, Potts BM, Vaillancourt RE (2013). Adaptation to climate in widespread eucalypt species. National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Gold Coast, 86 pp

Commander LE, Coates D, Broadhurst L, Offord CA, Makinson RO, Matthes M (2018). Guidelines for the translocation of threatened plants in Australia. Third Edition. Australian Network for Plant Conservation, Canberra.

Conservation Commission of Western Australia (2013). Forest Management Plan 2014-2023. Conservation Commission of Western Australia, Department of Parks and Wildlife, Perth.

FPA (Forest Practices Authority Tasmania) (2020). Forest Practices Code 2020. Forest Practices Authority, Hobart, Tasmania.

Jordan R, Hoffmann AA, Dillon SK, Prober SM (2017). Evidence of genomic adaptation to climate in Eucalyptus microcarpa: Implications for adaptive potential to projected climate change. Molecular Ecology 26: 6002–6020. doi.org/10.1111/mec.14341

Hamilton M, Joyce K, Williams D, Dutkowski G, Potts B (2008). Achievements in forest tree improvement in Australia and New Zealand 9. Genetic improvement of Eucalyptus nitens in Australia. Australian Forestry 71: 82-93. doi.org/10.1080/00049158.2008.10676274

Lott R, Read SM (2021). Status of Australia’s Forest Genetic Resources 2021. Australia’s Country Report for The Second Report on the State of the World’s Forest Genetic Resources. Prepared for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ABARES Research Report 21.15. November 2021 Canberra. CC BY 4.0, doi.org/10.25814/dnv3-vj64

McLay TGB, Murphy DJ, Holmes GD, Mathews S, Brown GK, Cantrill D, Udovicic F, Allnutt TR, Jackson CJ (2022). A genome resource for Acacia, Australia’s largest plant genus. PLOS ONE 17(10): e0274267. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274267

Martyn Yenson AJ, Offord CA, Meagher PF, Auld TA, Bush D, Coates DJ, Commander LE, Guja LK, Norton SL, Makinson RO, Stanley R, Walsh N, Wrigley D, Broadhurst L (2021). Plant Germplasm Conservation in Australia. Third Edition. Australian Network for Plant Conservation, Canberra.

Prober S, Potts BM, Bailey T, Byrne M, Dillon S, Harrison PA, Hoffmann AA, Jordan R, McLean EH, Steane DA, Stock WD, Vaillancourt RE (2016). Climate adaptation and ecological restoration in eucalypts. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 128: 40-53 doi.org/10.1071/RS16004

Radke P (2006) The role of clonal propagation in forestry and agriculture in Australia, in Combined Proceedings International Plant Propagators’ Society, Volume 55, 2005. ISSN 0538-9143. https://ipps.org/uploads/docs/55_15.pdf

Singh S, Cunningham D, Davidson J, Bush D, Read S (2013). Status of Australia’s Forest Genetic Resources. ABARES Research Report 13.3, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra.