Brown Mountain old growth trees much older than was thought

The University of Waikato, New Zealand radiocarbon dating laboratory has confirmed that a Shining Gum (E. denticulata) cut down by VicForests in the Brown Mountain old growth forest was 550-600 years old.

Greens MP Sue Pennicuik said in parliament today that "VicForests and the Brumby Government cannot ‘replace’ these trees once they are cut down. It would take until 2600AD to regrow a tree to the same size."

"This ancient tree measured 11 metres around the stump close to the ground. It was young when Joan of Ark lived and before Christopher Columbus discovered America," she said.

"Until now, foresters have claimed these large trees were about 200-250 years old. Others have assumed 300-400 years old would be the age limit before succumbing to rot."

"I have seen many other trees in the Brown Mountain area that have girths of 12 metres or more. These could be 700-800 years old or even older. The understorey can be much older - up to 2000 years," she said.

In 2006, the ALP promised to protect the last significant stands of old growth forest. Since then hundreds of hectares of these ancient forests have been cut down and more areas of old growth are earmarked for logging by the state-owned VicForests.

"It is not good enough for the government to claim that VicForests is independent and that they cannot do anything to save Brown Mountain. East Gippsland's old growth forests belong to the people of Victoria, not to VicForests. The government could stop the logging right now," she said.

"Most Victorians would be horrified to know that the majority of trees from our old growth forests are woodchipped at Eden and shipped to Japan," she said.

"These are ancient trees and part of our precious natural heritage and must be protected for our children and our children’s children," she said.