Beekeeping and forestry practices in some Victorian State forests.  G. Dooley.  October 2004.  25pp. (unpubl.)

SUMMARY

Commercial beekeeping is an important industry in Victoria with a value of about $10 million for honey and beeswax production in 2000/01. The Victorian Government manages areas of State forest for a variety of uses and values, which include honey production. This review was initiated to develop an overall understanding of issues that affect beekeeping in native State forests and to assist in their management for honey production.

The specific aims of this review were to:

• document the preferred native forest types in Victoria for honey production and the reasons for this;
• understand the natural factors influencing honey production within certain forest types; and
• determine the effects of forest management (silvicultural and burning) practices on honey production.

Four major beekeeping areas, the North East forests, the Mildura Forest Management Area (FMA), the Bendigo FMA, and the East Gippsland FMA were reviewed by personally interviewing beekeepers and Forest Management (DSE) staff.

The survey of beekeepers in relation to their views on forest management as it affects their industry, showed that the most important requirements for beekeepers are:

• mature forest with healthy crowns,
• the availability of all eucalypt nectar species, and that
• these areas are readily accessible.

The forest types most suitable for beekeeping in Victorian State forests include the foothill mixed species of the North East, Mallee, River Red Gum and Black Box forests, box-ironbark, and coastal mixed species of East Gippsland. Other forest types are also important in years of poor flowering in the usual beekeeping areas. Eucalypts and understorey species are important for both nectar and pollen.

Beekeepers believe that the minimum tree age for maximum nectar production in eucalypts is approximately 40-50 years if regenerated from seed and 15-20 years if regenerated from coppice. Suitable stand densities are ones that allow development of large, healthy, wide spreading crowns. Stands consisting of only suppressed trees are not as useful.

Climatic factors play a large role in the development of bud crops and flowering. Extreme weather conditions including drought, temperatures above 38-40°C with hot northerly winds, and hail or heavy rain negatively impact on flowering and nectar production. Higher than annual average rainfall and a rainfall event prior to flowering appear to have generally positive impacts.

Fuel Reduction Burns may remove buds and eucalypts require 2-40 years to recover. Post-wildfire, eucalypts may require 10-15 years to recover, dependent on the intensity of the fire. Timber harvesting may have either a positive or negative impact for beekeeping depending on the density of trees retained on coupes. Single tree selection and thinning silvicultural systems have positive impacts as there is a removal of suppressed trees and retained trees are allowed to develop large crowns. Clear-felling and seed tree silvicultural systems have negative impacts due to the temporary removal of the eucalypt resource.

Existing forest management guidelines for the beekeeping industry are satisfactory in forest areas where selection harvesting is practised, but where more intensive harvesting, such as seed tree silviculture occurs, prescriptions such as in the Gippsland Forest Apiary Plan may be required.