Forest Types
Acacia
Acacia forests are found across Australia but are particularly common in arid, semi arid, and dry subtropical areas. They make up 10% of the total native forest area, with the largest regions in Queensland and Western Australia. Australia has 955 species of Acacia, commonly known as wattles, with the largest trees growing up to 30 metres tall.
Most Acacias are not suitable for timber harvesting, being too small in stem size or too widely dispersed to make it economical. However, the Black Wattle, Silver Wattle and Brown Salwood have all been harvested for timber or pulpwood. Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon), a common tree of south-eastern Australia and Tasmania, is particularly well known for its attractive timber, which is often used in furniture making.
Acacia forests are also used for cut flowers, oils, and animal fodder, as well as wattle seed, which has become a popular bushfood used to flavour cakes and biscuits. Indigenous people have long used Acacias for fuel, medicine, musical instruments, tools and weapons such as boomerangs and spearheads.
Due to their wide distribution, Acacia forests are very important in maintaining ecosystems and preserving biodiversity. Acacia forests are home to a number of rare and endangered species, including the Northern Imperial Hairstreak Butterfly, found in northern New South Wales and Queensland.
For more information on Acacia forests, read the National Forestry Inventory’s Acacia Forest Profile.
Acacia Forest
Photo: Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Corporation
