Improved tools to predict fertiliser response and profitability in softwood plantations across Australia. Component 2: Eastern Australia

ProFert is a decision support tool for assisting plantation growers in predicting growth responses to and financial performance of fertiliser use. It provides a financial analysis of the profitability of fertiliser use in softwood plantations over an entire rotation. The aim of this project is to further develop and calibrate ProFert for softwood plantations across Australia. This requires a variety of activities in different regions. In Queensland, a series of fertiliser experiments will be established to assess responsiveness of hybrid tropical pines to post-thinning fertiliser; in the south east, new plots will be established and existing experiments remeasured to refine and validate existing relationships in ProFert and assess the potential to use remote sensing data as inputs for the model. This project links to a parallel sub-project in WA where existing data from an extensive trial network will be used to parameterise ProFert for use there.