Indigenous Forestry
Introduction
Red and Silver beech forest, Station Creek
New Zealand has a wealth-creation opportunity through building a timber industry based upon the management of a portion of its 1.5 million hectares of privately owned indigenous forests. Despite extensive exotic plantations New Zealand imports large amounts of high-value timber ($360 million in 2005). Benefits from an indigenous forest industry include: reduced imports of timber produced unsustainably; reduced biosecurity risks from imports; increased revenue to owners; enhanced rural employment and the potential to provide improved environmental, social and cultural benefits to indigenous people; and reduced risks associated with a dependency on few exotic species.
What research is needed?
A major constraint on developing an indigenous forest industry is meeting societal expectations for environmentally sustainable management. Our research will demonstrate how privately owned indigenous forests could be sustainably managed for timber production. The research is novel in that we will develop the knowledge necessary to sustain compositional (e.g. species and abundances), structural (e.g. size range of trees) and functional (e.g. nutrient availability) characteristics of forests. The research includes a partnership with Tūhoe and their distinctive management needs, as well as underpinning legislative requirements of the Forests Act.
How will this information be used?
Management outcomes from research results will occur through end-user involvement in the research, making new knowledge available, supporting implementation, fostering capacity building, and finally, demonstrating the applicability of our research. The research aligns to co-funding from MAF and our results will be included in MAF standards and guidelines for silvicultural regimes. Our research will demonstrate the restoration of podocarps and kererū in podocarp-tawa forest owned by Tūhoe.
Sustainable management of indigenous forests for timber production, while maintaining other natural values, is a controversial and challenging issue for private forest owners. Our research goals are to develop continuous-cover-forestry silvicultural systems that minimise harvesting impacts and to understand how forests managed for timber production can at the same time provide improved cultural and environmental benefits. The research team comprises silvicultural, ecological, pest management and traditional knowledge skills from Landcare Research, Ensis (formerly Forest Research), AgResearch, and the Tūhoe Tuawhenua Trust.
Research areas
- Designing low-impact silviculture
Primary contact: Susan Wiser
Our research will lead to silvicultural systems that minimise environmental impacts, by developing an understanding of how indigenous forestry modifies ecosystem processes in a range of commonly managed forest types. - Restoring exploitatively logged forests
Primary contact: Rob Allen
Our research will develop an understanding of how forests managed for timber production can at the same time provide cultural and environmental benefits to Māori owners.
Primary contact
 | Rob Allen Email  |
Landcare Research | |
Phone: 03 321 9999 |