Mountain Ash Forests of Victoria – Present, Past, and Possible Futures
Channel: The Royal Society of Victoria
Date: 05/12/2023

Dr Chris Taylor (@ANUFennerSchool) takes a look at the state of Victoria’s iconic Mountain Ash Forests, among the tallest forests in the world. 

Defined by their towering Mountain Ash trees, these forests are now at a historic crossroads. For decades, the Mountain Ash have been targeted for industrial scale logging. With the added impact of bushfires, recent years have seen a dramatic decline in the capacity for these forests to provide logs to industry. In response, the Victorian Government announced that logging in these and other forests will cease by the end of the year. 

Chris explores historical accounts of what these forests were once observed to be like, including those as documented by First Nations People and by early colonists following the British Invasion. His presentation concludes with some likely future scenarios, based on several studies analysing changing trends across these forests.

About the speaker:

Dr Chris Taylor is a research fellow at the Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University. His research focuses on the landscape scale changes across the Mountain Ash and surrounding forest ecosystems in Victoria, including disturbances by logging and fire. Chris has researched and analysed changes across the Mountain Ash forests for nearly 20 years, and has also worked in the field of forest certification, with an emphasis on standards and compliance.

Produced by the Royal Society of Victoria for "The Future of Victoria's Native Forests: A Public Symposium" with the support of the Alluvium Foundation. The symposium was delivered in partnership with the Alluvium Foundation, Friends of the Earth Melbourne and the Victorian National Parks Association.