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Forest Management

Forests and trees require careful management to achieve the grower's goals, such as timber production. We've identified these areas:

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Tree Grower articles

  • Continuous cover forest harvesting in action (Access: NZFFA membership)
    Nick Ledgard, August 2021
    Many readers will have visited Woodside and be familiar with the sustainable management and harvesting being practised in the beech forests. Woodside is the 120-hectare property of John and Rosalie…
  • Why alternatives to clear felling harvests should be seriously considered (Access: unrestricted)
    Mark Bloomberg, May 2021
    New Zealand currently harvests about 37 million cubic metres of logs a year. About 99 per cent of this harvest volume is from clear felling harvests, with approximately one per…
  • TreeFarmer to help with woodlot harvest decisions (Access: unrestricted)
    Graham West, May 2021
    TreeFarmer is the latest of a series of levy-funded projects aimed at improving a small-scale forest grower’s woodlot harvesting experience.  TreeFarmer does this by raising the grower’s awareness of the problems and decisions they…
  • Lessons for owners of forests on erosion-prone land (Access: unrestricted)
    Hamish Levack, February 2021
    In 1970 a report was published of the technical committee of inquiry into the problems of the Poverty Bay and East Cape District called Wise Land Use and Community Development,…
  • Think about your future forest (Access: unrestricted)
    Michelle Harnett, February 2021
    It is the year 2050 and you are about to the harvest unpruned radiata pine you grew at 600 stems a hectare. Has everything gone to plan? How different would…
  • Transitioning from pine to mixed species continuous cover forestry (Access: unrestricted)
    Chris and Harry Livesey, February 2021
    Chris and Harry Livesey are a father and son team. Chris planted the forest in 1993 and is planning to harvest the pine component some time in 2021. Then Harry…
  • The time for extended rotations has arrived (Access: unrestricted)
    Stuart Orm, November 2019
    Before corporatisation and the reshuffle of the Forest Service the rotation ages for trees in Kaiangoroa Forest often hit 70 years. With the sale of forests to companies which needed…
  • Continuous cover forestry (Access: unrestricted)
    Rachel Rose, November 2019
    There is a lot of erosion prone land in the Manawatu-Whanganui region, plenty of existing forestry and like other parts of the country, growing and organised opposition to the conversion…
  • How can I make my forest more productive and what does the latest research say? (Access: unrestricted)
    Michelle Harnett, August 2019
    Research. Some think it is essential, others think of it as a time-consuming, cash-devouring black hole. The people who have been working on the research programme Growing Confidence in Forestry’s…
  • Target diameter harvesting – beyond the transition (Access: unrestricted)
    Howard Moore, May 2019
    The short paper on target diameter harvesting in February’s Tree Grower was supplemented by the excellent field day at Tinui Forest Park in the Wairarapa, where around 45 people turned…
  • Successful target diameter harvesting field day (Access: unrestricted)
    Eric Cairns and Harriet Palmer, May 2019
    On 20 February fifty people converged on Tinui Forest Park to hear more about the MPI Sustainable Farming Fund target diameter harvesting project. There was a good mix of representatives…
  • Can target diameter harvesting work in radiata pine plantations in the lower North Island? (Access: unrestricted)
    Mark Bloomberg, Eric Cairns, Denny Du, Harriet Palmer and Chris Perry, February 2019
    In March 2018 a team of continuous cover forestry enthusiasts embarked on a feasibility study. It was funded by the Sustainable Farming Fund and was to investigate the potential for…
  • Does plantation forestry still belong on highly erodible hill country? (Access: unrestricted)
    Eric Cairns, November 2018
    Flood damage, widespread landslides and wood debris flows emanating from plantation forestry have made national headlines twice this year. This commentary is possibly a little late, given that Cyclone Gita…
  • National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry - An update on what you need to know (Access: unrestricted)
    Alex Wilson, August 2018
    Many of you will now know that if you who own, or are planning to plant, a commercial forest larger than one hectare it is now regulated by the National…
  • Continuous cover forestry feasibility study (Access: unrestricted)
    Harriet Palmer, August 2018
    Continuous cover forestry involves regular harvesting small areas or individual trees which then avoids clear-felling. An NZFFA and Sustainable Farming Fund project to investigate the feasibility of a specific continuous…
  • Do not let harvesting mishaps paint a false picture of forestry (Access: unrestricted)
    Nick Ledgard, August 2018
    I recently wrote an article for our branch newsletter about forests on the move. This focused on the so-called window of vulnerability, a period of about six years after a…
  • New environmental rules - the National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry (Access: unrestricted)
    Chris Fowler, May 2018
    Whether you are an owner of a small forest or a land owner interested in planting trees under the government’s billion trees initiative, you need to be aware of the…
  • Ultra - a profitable short rotation regime for radiata pine on high quality sites (Access: unrestricted)
    Graham West, May 2018
    A new management regime is proposed for growing radiata pine for export logs on a short rotation. The ultra regime is to plant 500 stems a hectare using best quality…
  • Radiata pine for the next generation (Access: unrestricted)
    Michael Watt and Harriet Palmer, February 2018
    Finally, payday is approaching for many forest owners, as woodlots and forests planted in the 1990s reach harvest age. For growers planning to replant with radiata pine, and any new planters,…
  • Selective harvesting our indigenous forests (Access: unrestricted)
    Wink Sutton, November 2017
    Indigenous forests are living ecosystems. In untended indigenous forests the total standing volume usually only varies by a small amount. Although old trees die, fall over and rot on the…
  • Have you got anywhere to plant trees? (Access: unrestricted)
    Jean-Paul Praat, November 2016
    This article about harvesting is from a slightly different viewpoint. The author was the investor and he wrote the article originally for those unfamiliar with growing a woodlot. Have you…
  • Forestry management around transmission lines: Avoid the shock with prudent planning (Access: unrestricted)
    Geoff Wishart, November 2016
    For small-scale forest owners, nothing eats into profit more than special felling requirements at harvest time or having to fell mature edge trees. This could be in a hard to…
  • The good wood (Access: unrestricted)
    John Moore and Michelle Harnett, August 2016
    Two important questions that foresters want to know the answers to are – How much extra value do I get from planting genetically improved radiata pine tree stocks? What level…
  • The science or art of forest inventory (Access: unrestricted)
    Alan Bell, August 2016
    Measuring trees should be easy enough. You plant so many per hectare and there are so many hectares. So what is all the fuss about? Well, trees have a habit…
  • Risk and Resilience (Access: unrestricted)
    Michelle Harnett, February 2016
    Do you want more money and an income you can count on? Value chain optimisation may be the answer, but to many this jargon phrase needs some explanation. What does…
  • Forestry investments – Current returns and future prospects (Access: unrestricted)
    Peter Gresham, November 2015
    The first part of this article, about forestry investments and the returns from harvest, was first published in Tree Grower in early 2004. Now, over 11 years later, it seemed to be…
  • Location, location and location (Access: unrestricted)
    Wink Sutton, August 2015
    Included on one of the farm visits at this year’s well organised conference in Whangarei was an excellent presentation by Scion’s Graham West. Graham had collated data of nett returns…
  • Alexander Trust shelterbelt spacing trial (Access: unrestricted)
    Paul Silcock, May 2013
    Shelterbelts suffer from many of the ailments which exposed, open-grown radiata crops on fertile farmland are often accused of possessing. Rapid growth rates and unbalanced crowns which are exposed to…
  • Will Hull’s contribution to radiata pine plantation management (Access: unrestricted)
    Wink Sutton, November 2012
    Farm forestry has made a considerable contribution to forestry research. When he was alive our founder, Neil Barr, contributed much. Another important contributor was Wairarapa’s Will Hull. To fully appreciate…
  • Risk and opportunity in forestry (Access: unrestricted)
    Geraint Bermingham and Kevin Oldham, August 2012
    If the last few years have taught us anything it is the notion that risk and uncertainty are a reality for anyone interested in future value. Some things may have…
  • Risk management A farm forester’s perspective (Access: unrestricted)
    Anders Crofoot, August 2012
    Trees are a crop, and as with all crops there are a variety of risks. The risks vary not only with the season, but with the age of the crop.…
  • Risk issues associated with the ownership of forest land (Access: unrestricted)
    Blue Hancock, August 2012
    This article will look at some of the more prominent and unusual risks associated with the ownership of forest land. I have a 30-year background in rural land valuation, specialising…
  • Managing the risks to health, safety, property and profit (Access: unrestricted)
    Matt Hanna, May 2012
    Risk management in farming and forestry immediately focuses landowners on compliance. Technicians enjoy compliance, but creative people often struggle to accommodate it. By nature farmers and foresters are often individualistic.…
  • Agroforestry – the Tikitere experience (Access: unrestricted)
    Martin Hawke, May 2011
    In the mid to late 1970s no farm forestry visit to the Bay of Plenty was complete without a visit to the Tikitere agroforestry trial. Within a decade or two…
  • Recognising site quality for forest productivity (Access: unrestricted)
    Michael Orchard, November 2010
    If we were a big organisation looking to buy the optimal piece of land for forestry production, we might go to the fertile pumice lands of the Bay of Plenty…
  • Continuous cover forestry - an introduction (Access: unrestricted)
    Ian Barton, November 2005
    This article covers the basic principles of continuous cover forestry. The second part, due to be published in the February Tree Grower, will deal with establishment, silviculture and harvesting. Continuous…
  • Continuous cover forestry: Management practice (Access: unrestricted)
    Ian Barton, May 2006
    This is the second and final part of the article on continuous cover forestry. The first part was published in the November 2005 issue of the Tree Grower. Establishing the…
  • Continuous Cover Forestry: A Handbook for the Management of New Zealand Forests by Ian Barton (Access: unrestricted)
    Review by Allan Levett, November 2008
    This is a timely book. Continuous cover forestry is suited to slower growing high value species. Increasing oil costs threaten export values for pine timber and call for alternatives that…

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