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Natural Regeneration

Natural regeneration is the establishment of trees by using seed fall from standing trees.

By Department of Primary Industries - 7th June 2006 - Back to News

Fostering natural regeneration is a cheap and effective method of tree replacement. With good planning, and a bit of patience, good results can be achieved with little effort compared to planting seedlings.

As with tree planting, natural regeneration areas should be designed to fit into an overall plan for the property. Remember that the area for regeneration will be unavailable to grazing stock for 2‑5 years.

Seed is shed from fruit or seed cases, such as gum nuts, wattle pods, she‑oak and native pinecones, contained in the tree crown. The crowns should be inspected to determine the abundance and maturity of the fruit crop. It is important that the existing trees are capable of producing sufficient seed.

Sunlight and available moisture are the main determinants of seedling survival and growth rate over the first 12 months. Absence of weed competition will greatly increase germination and survival rates of any seedlings resulting from natural seed fall. Cultivation, use of knockdown herbicides and sometimes fire can be used to reduce or eliminate weed competition.

The primary reason why no natural regeneration is seen around trees in paddocks is the destruction of seedlings by grazing stock and pests.

Grazing animals will browse young seedlings as they germinate, so protection is essential. Often, when an area is rested from grazing for a number of years, even without weed control, young seedlings will appear around the existing trees.

The fenced area needs to be located carefully in relation to the parent trees. Generally eucalypt seed is dispersed about 1‑3 tree height equivalents downwind form the crown of the parent tree. Consider the critical winds for seed fall when locating fences for natural regeneration.

Rabbits and hares will cause great damage to naturally regenerated seedlings and will usually bring about failure of the regeneration project. Rabbit proofing may be necessary with the use of netting.

On occasions excess seedlings resulting from natural regeneration can be transplanted to other sites. Where regeneration is particularly thick you may need to remove excess seedlings after 3‑6 years.

Natural regeneration can produce very high tree densities, offering a good opportunity to produce quality timber. If these trees are thinned and pruned on a regular basis, high quality veneer or saw logs can be produced.

Natural regeneration is not a guaranteed method of growing trees but, in the right year, it can produce spectacular results for very little cost.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com