Farm Forestry New ZealandMay, 2015
How much wood has my woodlot got?
Scion seeks small woodlot owners to help test a new tool that will provide simple recommendations to assist management of small-scale forest stands.
Decision support tools that provide management recommendations are commonly used in large-scale forestry enterprises, but are used much less frequently in the management of small-scale forest stands. One of the reasons for this is the availability of suitable tools to provide assistance – various expert systems and surfaces have been developed to track productivity, nutrient pools and water balance over large areas, but these are not readily applicable over smaller land units.
Scion is seeking to address this gap by developing a new tool that focusses specifically on the needs of small woodlot owners. The design of the tool has been kept simple, allowing it to be used with only basic stand information such as planting date and the rate of stocking. To test the usefulness of the tool and to help develop it further, Scion wants to engage with small block owners who are willing to provide feedback. If you are interested in getting involved in this important project, which will provide benefits to farm foresters, please contact Samuel Damesin using the information provided below.
Samuel.Damesin@scionresearch.com
07 343 5611
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