What is field and tree marking?
Field and tree markings are important tools for forest management. It ensures that trees are correctly harvested or retained during forestry operations.
Tree marking and the Private Native Forestry Codes of Practice
The Private Native Forestry Codes of Practice (PNF Codes) ask that you include tree marking actions, where applicable, as part of your forest operation planning and management. Your Forest Management Plan (FMP) must contain details of your tree marking activities (where applicable). For details, see Section 4.1 (Forest Management Plans) of the PNF Codes.
Under Appendix A of the PNF Codes (Listed species ecological prescriptions), you must mark all buffer and exclusion zones for threatened species prescriptions in the field where they adjoin the area subject to forestry operations.
This marking has to be visible while forestry operations are occurring. Some threatened species protections also require that you mark trees to retain in the field. The PNF Codes also include a range of other prescriptions:
- landscape features to protect
- tree retention requirements
- and riparian exclusions zones.
While undertaking forest operation planning, you should identify these in the field using tree markings.
The purposes and benefits of field and tree marking
Field and tree markings are a useful tool to manage both timber production and environmental protection during a forestry operation.
Marking helps timber objectives by identifying which trees to retain and which trees to harvest.
Environmental protection objectives can be clearly marked out by identifying forest features. These features can be habitat and food trees, riparian exclusion zones, and threatened species.
Field and tree markings allow forest managers to clearly communicate their plans to forest operators. Field and tree marking can include:
- identifying exclusion and buffer zones to meet requirements for protecting landscape features (for example, drainage features, Aboriginal objects or places, rocky outcrops, threatened species and endangered ecological communities)
- protecting habitat and biodiversity (for example, identifying and retaining habitat and recruitment trees)
- marking which trees to retain (including trees with good productive potential for future harvest)
- marking trees for harvesting.
Techniques, equipment and forest management plan completion
The techniques for marking can vary, depending on the equipment and skill sets available to the forest manager. The most basic form of marking is to use tree marking paint or tape to mark out trees for harvest, retention and around exclusion zones. This will allow them to be clearly visible to forest operators.
You can use a field and tree marking checklist to decide how to mark up the forest area.
There is a marking checklist provided in the FMP Template.
When marking up in the field, it is important to remember your operators’ requirements and changing forest conditions. Important things to consider:
- Is it clear who is responsible for completing the tree and field markings before the harvesting operations commence?
- Are the visual marks (paint or tape) clear to a hand faller walking through the forest or a machinery operator looking out from within the confines of a cab?
- Are the markings visible from several sides?
- Have the marks been impacted by a change in the environmental or tree conditions (for example, rain, storm, fire, shedding bark, etc.)?
- Have you briefed operators of any changes to the marking up process?
- Do operators all have access to the FMP, which includes a tree marking guide, ensuring operators are aware of what each marking stands for?
Basic marking, using paint or tape, is not designed to be permanent. Its purpose is to provide short- term visual cues while the forest operation is being undertaken. You will have to reapply marks if a significant time has passed between forest operations.
Advanced forms of marking, such as spatial mapping and tree-tagging, provide the forest manager with viable, long-term mechanisms to record marking in forests. This can be a useful addition to field and tree markings. Handheld GPS units and smart devices (phones or tablets) running mapping applications are cost effective ways to mark areas.
If you lose physical visual markers such as paint, tape or tags, they can be accurately reapplied to the correct locations through information stored in these devices. When completing your FMP, ensure that all parties involved with the forest operation understand the mark-up procedure and checklist marking symbols.
Examples of tree markings
| Marking example | What the marking means |
|---|---|
 | FMP area boundary or Single pink tape or painted ring |
 | Exclusion zone Single orange tape or 3 painted lines |
 | Log landing or portable mill site LD (dump) |
 | Stream crossing site Tape across stream above and below crossing extending at least to exclusion zone marking |
 | Trees to be removed (merchantable) M or . (dot) |
 | Directional felling mark M or . (dot) with arrow |
 | Habitat trees to be retained H |
 | Recruitment trees to be retained R |
 | Boundary of Australian Group Selection canopy opening Asterisk (*) |
 | Boundary of listed threatened species buffer area (where threatened species requires total exclusion, use exclusion zone marking symbology) Single pink tape or a painted ring with a T |