Carrabin first inventory

A few months back I had the opportunity to do the first inventory measurement of the Carrabin blackwood plantation.

You can read about this plantation in my previous blogs including the major thinning in 2013:

https://blackwoodgrowers.com.au/2013/11/13/carrabin-first-thinning/

The plantation is now 16 years old and 3 years since its major thinning.

There are still about 20 trees to be removed before the plantation reaches its final stocking of approximately 36 trees. The above picture shows recent thinning in progress.

In all 39 trees were marked and measured. Here are the results:

Note that the objective is to grow blackwood trees that have single straight stems pruned to at least 6.0 metres, and a breast height diametre (DBHOB) of 60cm when harvested.

Because of the close initial planting (2x2m) and the delayed thinning, the remaining trees do not have the diameter I would expect for this age. The largest trees are 27 cm diameter.

As these trees rebuild their crowns following the 2013 thinning I expect the diameter growth rate to increase. Another inventory in 5 years will tell us whether this has happened.

This blackwood plantation is a real credit to the commitment and dedication of the owner.

This is how the special timbers industry should be in Tasmania. Not a politically motivated taxpayer-funded junket into our last remaining public old growth forests.