Queensland's total land area is approximately 173 million hectares. A large part of this area currently supports, or in the past has supported, trees of one type or another.

This tree cover varies greatly, ranging from dense tropical and subtropical rainforests found in the high rainfall areas near the coast to extensive sparse woodlands in western Queensland. Queensland's forests are a very important resource for the people of this State and Australia as a whole.

The land clearing that has occurred since European settlement has significantly decreased tree cover in the State.

This is due to the land being cleared without planning to grow trees back, a process sometimes called deforestation. In addition, not all of the existing tree communities are considered as forest, as they are not of sufficient height and density. In fact, slightly less than a third of the State (about 49 million hectares) currently has vegetation cover, and only 79 per cent of this is made up of forest, plantation or woodland. Closed canopy and other dense forests are mainly found in the coastal areas and some parts of southern inland Queensland.

Queensland's tree cover consists of both native forests and plantations. Native forests exist naturally, are complex in nature and usually contain a variety of tree species. Factors such as geographical location, climate and soil type can affect the species found in a particular forest. Native forests are usually split into two categories: hardwood (that contain mostly Eucalypt species) and cypress pine forests (that mostly contain Callitris species).

Pine forests are sometimes referred to as softwood forests. Plantations, on the other hand, are specifically planted for the production of timber. They usually contain one type of tree that has been chosen for its fast growth and timber quality. Quite often the species used in plantations are not native to the area. It is the tree plantations and dense native forests that are of most importance to the forest industry's timber supply.

The role of native forests and plantations in Australia has undergone important change over the last 15 years. One of the main reasons for this is that as community awareness, interest in forest values, and concern for the environment have grown, native forest harvesting practices have had to be readdressed. Forest managers have become more focused on ensuring that forests and the benefits that they provide to society are used and managed sustainably to support current and future generations. Because of this change, public native forests are being harvested less, which is increasing private native forest harvesting.

What is the difference between public and private native forests? Public native forests exist on Crown land. Private native forests exist on land that is owned by individuals or private businesses and companies. Queensland's native forests are made up of a combination of public and private forests.

Plantation harvesting has increased dramatically over recent years. In fact, plantation harvesting has overtaken native forests and since the early 1990s has been the major supplier of timber to the Queensland industry.

There are approximately 200,000 hectares of tree plantations in Queensland. Most of these were established by the State Government in a number of key stages, in the 1930s and then again in the 1950s and 1960s. This estate of plantations was established with the main purpose of harvesting for timber. The creation of employment and positive economic impacts on the region were also important objectives for the Government.

Over 90 per cent of Queensland's plantations (about 180,000 hectares) are publicly owned. Most plantations are located on the coastal strip between Brisbane and Bundaberg. The concentration of plantations in the southeast of the State reflects the decision to locate them close to the State's major population areas, transport facilities and markets.