Clearfelling versus selective logging in uneven-aged eucalypt forests

Uneven-aged eucalypt forests used for pulpwood extraction are generally clearfelled. This method is not necessary to induce regeneration. Clearfelling may be less expensive in the short term, but will result in a medium-term loss of sawlog, may be unsuited to extreme sites, may not be a more productive system than selection, and is likely to have more severe edaphic, aesthetic and biotic impact than selection. There may be a greater potential loss of productivity to wild fire with clearfelling than with selective systems.