South Brooman State Forest, NSW. VAST-2: Tracking the Transformation of Australia's Vegetated Landscapes

The aim of this project is to compile land use and management practices and their observed and measured impacts and effects on vegetation condition. The results provide land managers and researchers with a tool for reporting and monitoring spatial and temporal transformations of Australia’s native vegetated landscapes due to changes in land use and management practices. Following are the details about South Brooman State Forest, NSW.

Pre-European reference-analogue vegetation: The site was originally eucalypt tall open forest, multi-aged open, dry sclerophyll forest. The main overstorey species were spotted gum (Corymbia maculata), Eucalyptus muelleriana, E. paniculata, E. pilularis. The main understorey species were Acacia spp., Acmena spp.

Brief chronology of changes in land use and management:
1830: Unmodified
1880: Area picked over for high quality sawlogs
1945: Area picked over for high quality sawlogs
1949: Sawlog harvesting - 85% of area
1959: Sawlog harvesting - 85% of area
1968: Commercial Thinning - 25% of area
1969: Area left to rehabilitate
1994: Wildfire - 100% of the area
1996: Pole harvesting - 5% of area
1998: Sawlog harvesting - 20% of the area
1999 and 2003: Hazard reduction
1997: Site was burnt (prescribed fire) followed by drought
2004-2011: Area left to rehabilitate