Cut off in their prime

Last Sunday we were driving on the Wielangta Forest Track south of Orford in Tasmania when I spotted this dozer working. I think land was being cleared to put in a Blue Gum plantation. In Victoria they are not allowed to push native vegetation for plantations so I was surprised to see it happening in Tasmania.

And I was also surprised to see trees that have been left standing in paddocks that have been cut off about head height and allowed to regrow. Many have died but those that still stand look terrible. This tree was in the Esk Valley on the east coast but I saw numerous trees like it in the Derwent Valley as well. I couldn't work out the reasoning behind the action.