Abstract: The great 'wood of neglect' includes all the forests and woodlands outside the formally planned forest cared for by foresters or park rangers. The wood of neglect has a forest but not a forestry history and in many countries forest historians have given it less attention than the well-documented 'forest of care'. The case of Australia is considered in this chapter. As in other lands of new settlement, the colonists dispossessed the indigenous people and transformed the landscape to develop agriculture, mining and settlement. Eventually some state forests and national parks were reserved from deforestation and state forestry services were created. Forestry became identified with the management of state forests and industrial plantations. The forests and woodlands on farm and grazing land, which make up the wood of neglect, have been largely ignored by foresters and forest historians, even though their area (125 Mha) is larger than that of the forest of care (31 Mha). The effects of grazing, the condition of patches of forest and isolated trees on farms, and the natural regeneration of some areas are discussed. Although government and non-governmental organizations have encouraged tree planting with some success, there have been few attempts to halt deforestation or avert forest degradation on private lands. It is suggested that forest historians need to turn some of their attention to the wood of neglect.
Publication Year: 2000
Publication Date: 2000-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 3
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