Soil and water
Tasmania has a diverse range of geological features, landforms and soils which underpin forest health and therefore, biodiversity and productivity.
Soils, geology, and geo-morphological features are assessed when preparing a Forest Practices Plan for any forest operation.
The Forest Practice Code guides the conduct of forest operations to ensure soil damage, such as compaction or erosion, are minimised.
Sometimes areas are identified that either require special management or are left unharvested due to their sensitivity to disturbance.
Forest operations have the potential to impact water quality and quantity. Water quality in Tasmania’s production forests is excellent and the impact of operations is localised and very small, and generally undetectable. Sustainable Timber Tasmania achieves this through a range of strategies and management prescriptions used to minimise the impact on water quality during forest operations. These include prescriptions and guidelines set out in the Forest Practices Code, such as protecting water courses, guidelines for road building and harvesting in water supply and catchment areas.
As part of Sustainable Timber Tasmania's Three Year Wood Production Planning process, stakeholders are encouraged to contact Sustainable Timber Tasmania as early as possible if they have any concerns or issues related to water quality and quantity that they believe will need to be addressed in the development of detailed operational plans.
For more information on protecting soil and water values under the Forest Practices system see the Forest Practices Authority website.
