Investors who have bought woodlots in managed investment schemes (MIS) now own one third of Australia's plantation estate, which last year increased by 4.7pc to 1.9 million hectares, the latest figures show.
Pine plantings are relatively static, with most new trees established for short-rotation hardwood woodchips, according to the Bureau of Rural Sciences plantation update.
The 2008 update shows that 86,569 hectares of new plantations were established last year, comprising 76,057 hectares of hardwoods and 10,512 hectares of softwoods.
The total area of 1.9 million hectares is made up of 883,000 hectares (46pc) of hardwood and 1.01 million hectares (53pc) of softwoods.
BRS executive director, Colin Grant, said private owners accounted for 92pc of the growth.
"Much of this has come about through MIS," he said.
Despite this, falling MIS sales were a key factor in the profit downgrade announced by diversified group Futuris last week, which led to the resignation of chief executive, Les Wozniczka.
The BRS figures show that governments own 36pc of plantations, with the private sector controlling the remaining 64pc — MIS (33pc), superannuation funds (12pc), private owners (10pc) and timber industry companies (9pc).
The private sector owns 86pc of all hardwoods and 37pc of all softwoods.
Dr Grant said most private growers planted hardwood for pulpwood (woodchip) production, although last year there was a noticeable rise in the rate of plantings — teak, mahogany and eucalypt — for sawlogs.
MIS accounted for 90pc of new hardwood plantations last year and 69pc of softwood plantations.
"If they continue at this rate, MIS will become the largest plantation ownership sector within two years," he said.
Dr Grant said changes to the tax impediments of selling young forests may stimulate investment in more sawlog plantations.
Without new investment, the rate of new plantings "will wane as large areas of plantations established in 1999-2001 are replanted".
Dr Grant said the governments of Western Australia and Queensland planted 80pc of the new public forest estates.
Other key features of the survey are:
* Victoria, with 411,876 hectares (21.6pc), has the most plantations, followed by WA (403,681ha), NSW (359,139ha) and Tasmania (274,173ha); and
* WA was the biggest in hardwood (294,714ha) and NSW the biggest in softwood (285,702ha) followed by Victoria (219,426ha).
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