ABSTRACT
The drive to use forests for wood has been important in the ebb and flow of humanity, and forests across the planet. Most of the natural forests of the world have a history of human interaction. The advent of agriculture, or the arrival of ‘first contact’ colonising modern societies, was not the beginning of human interaction and alteration of forests. Wood, and the forests that provide it, have been a significant historical driver in the waxing and waning of societies, and the struggles between them. Wood production is making significant shifts from forest ecosystem extraction to the cultivation of trees outside of forest ecosystems. One of the significant advantages that plantations offer over natural forests is their ability to grow relatively large volumes of logs in much smaller land areas with a consistent size, thereby allowing for more efficient transport and processing.
