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Forestry · Growth & yield · Yield

Mean annual increment

22 m³/ha/yr

Total standing volume divided by stand age — the average cubic metres of wood grown per hectare per year. It is the master productivity figure the whole rotation is planned and valued around.

Worked example · m³/ha/yr by age · vs district
Good site >20 22 K7 MAI District 17 yr 3 yr 8 yr 10
m³/ha/yr by age · vs district
The benchmark

In optimal WA plantation conditions blue gum MAI can exceed 20 m³/ha/yr; across variable sites it ranges from about 10 to 25 m³/ha/yr.

FWPA ↗
What it signals

MAI rolls site quality, stocking, health and management into one number, which is why harvest timing keys off it: you clearfall at the age where MAI peaks. A stand tracking above the district MAI is banking extra tonnes for the same ten years of land and capital.

Data required to calculate
Standing merchantable volumem³/haStand ageyr

Silo pulls each of these from the sources the operation already uses, and keeps the figure current automatically.

How to improve it
01

Protect early survival and height growth — MAI is set young.

02

Keep leaf disease and nutrient stress off the crown through the rotation.

03

Time the clearfall to the MAI culmination age, not a fixed calendar.

Questions & answers

What is mean annual increment?

Total standing volume divided by stand age — the average cubic metres of wood grown per hectare per year. It is the master productivity figure the whole rotation is planned and valued around.

What data do you need to calculate mean annual increment?

You need: Standing merchantable volume (m³/ha), Stand age (yr). Silo pulls each of these from the sources the operation already uses and keeps the figure current automatically.

What is a good mean annual increment benchmark?

In optimal WA plantation conditions blue gum MAI can exceed 20 m³/ha/yr; across variable sites it ranges from about 10 to 25 m³/ha/yr.

How do you improve mean annual increment?

Protect early survival and height growth — MAI is set young. Keep leaf disease and nutrient stress off the crown through the rotation. Time the clearfall to the MAI culmination age, not a fixed calendar.

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