报告嘉宾：Stephen Midgley

报告摘要：Global demand for wood products is being driven by a combination of population increase and economic growth, and consumption is being influenced by technological developments and environmental considerations.  The majority of forest products are consumed as fuelwood and mostly by developing countries.  Countries are responding to these global changes in a number of ways; primarily through increased imports or changing the resource base through an expansion of their plantation resource.  Plantations have grown from 18 million hectares in 1980 to over 200 million hectares today, and plantation grown wood now accounts for over 40% of the world’s industrial wood supply.

China and Australia have responded to these changing trends in distinctive and positive ways.  Both have rapidly expanding plantation programs and in Australia the proportion of plantation wood as a part of the total national wood harvest has increased from 20% in 1966 to 60% in 2006 and will reach 72% by 2010. A range of new technologies have been developed to accommodate this new resource base.

Australia has a broad and diverse native flora and has made a special contribution to global plantation expansion through her native species, primarily species of the genus Eucalyptus and Acacia. These species are now of considerable social, economic and environmental importance in many countries.  A description of the historical distribution and international use of these species is offered.

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