Upper Florentine Valley

Upper Florentine Valley


The Upper Florentine Valley, in Tasmania’s south, is an area well-recognised for its landscape and old growth forest values.  No less than ninety percent of the Upper Florentine catchment is protected for conservation values, or is otherwise unavailable for timber harvesting. 

In 2008, a three-member World Heritage Mission visited Tasmania to investigate the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA) and nearby forestry activities.  The Mission found that perceived impacts from forestry on the TWWHA are well-managed.  It also found that the forests outside the TWWHA are well-managed, for both conservation and economic objectives.  The Mission reported that there was no need to change the boundary of the TWHHA in order to deal with perceived threats to heritage values from forestry.



Wood production in the Upper Florentine

Ten percent of the Upper Florentine catchment is available for sustainable timber production. These areas are important sources of high quality eucalypt sawlogs and veneer logs, which are processed by Tasmanian mills, thereby generating employment in our regional communities.  The wood production areas of the Florentine also provide a supply of Tasmania’s prized special species timbers, such as myrtle and sassafras, which are in demand with artisans, craftspeople, and visitors to our State.

Native forest will be maintained in the Upper Florentine.  All areas that are harvested are regrown as native forest, from seed collected on site. No chemical pesticides or fertilisers are used in this process. Under new silvicultural practices developed by Forestry Tasmania, special species timbers in the Upper Florentine will be harvested through non-clearfell methods such as variable retention.  These methods of harvesting allow for special timbers to be cut according to market conditions, and for it to be managed on long rotations of 200 years.

Managing carbon stores

State forests play an important role in mitigating climate change, and the forests of the Upper Florentine are no exception.  Every area that is harvested will be regrown, ensuring that the forests continue to be a net carbon sink. Harvested timber that is processed into valuable products, such as furniture or building materials, will also continue to store carbon for decades.

Scientific modelling commissioned by Forestry Tasmania has demonstrated that all of Tasmania’s state forests are currently storing around 326 million tonnes of carbon. By 2050, the amount of carbon stored will increase by 31 million tonnes to 357 million tonnes.  That’s roughly equivalent to the carbon emitted by over half a million cars.

Access for beekeepers

Under the Tasmanian Community Forest Agreement assistance package for beekeepers, areas of state forest in the Upper Florentine will be managed to provide long term access into stands of leatherwood.  With most of the State’s leatherwood now protected within the TWHHA with limited access for beekeepers, access to  leatherwood on state forest in the Upper Florentine will be an increasingly significant resource for Tasmania’s honey industry.
Upper Florentine DL Brochure [590KB]