Old-growth Forest Series: Tasmania (The Styx Valley)

About the Styx Valley

The Styx Valley is located about 70 km west of Hobart, in south-eastern Tasmania, Australia. This area contains the tallest hardwood trees on earth, with many taller than a 25-storey building (almost 100m). These trees can be greater than 5m wide at the base, and live to over 400 years old.

The ancient trees of the Styx Valley.

The Swamp Gum or Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans) is the world's tallest flowering tree, and known to reach heights greater than 100m. In terms of insurance against climate change, the forest of the Styx stores incredible amounts carbon, up to 1200 tonnes per hectare.

Logging pressure

Between 300 and 600 hectares of the Styx Valley are logged each year for woodchips. Some areas have recently been protected, but decades of logging have seen over 90% of the old growth cleared. Within Tasmania, only 25% of its remaining old-growth forests are still intact, but many are felled and replaced with plantations each year.

How you can help

Already, thousands of Australian citizens, as well as people from around the world, have rallied to demand the protection of the Styx Valley. The 15th of December 2010 marked the beginning of a Federal and State Government process to deliver, within 90 days, a full moratorium (suspension) on logging in high conservation value forests in Tasmania such as the Styx. To learn more about the moratorium, or to see who helping protect the Styx, visit the The Tasmanian Wilderness Society and Greenpeace.

Related Posts:

• Old-growth Forest Series: British Columbia (The Great Bear Rainforest)
• Old-growth Forest Series: Western Australia (The Wandoo Woodlands of the Wheatbelt)