Woodside visit a conference highlight
Graham Sharland
New Zealand Tree
Grower August 2008
The highlight of the recent conference field days for me was the day
spent at Woodside Forest near Oxford. This property was logged some
time between 1895 and 1909. The charcoal visible on cut stumps
indicates that any forest remaining was largely destroyed by fire. From
1914 the property was managed as an economic grazing unit until it was
abandoned during the depression of the 1930s. After the depression it
passed through a number of owners who used it as a summer run-off block
for about 100 sheep.
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| Regenerating beech |
 In 1973
it was
purchased by John and Rosalie Wardle who developed a forestry
programme. They started to manage the re-growth black beech, most of
which originated from the 1940s, for timber production. Radiata
plantations were established under the Forestry Encouragement Scheme on
areas of grassland and gorse which had not yet reverted to native
forest.
The property now consists of about 30 hectares of predominantly radiata
plantations, 84 hectares of black beech and the remaining area in
pasture. A total of 70 hectares of the beech are being managed
sustainably under a Forests Act approved management plan for timber
production and the remaining 14 hectares are dedicated as
reserves. There are smaller plantings of a range of species
including Douglas fir, larch, coastal redwood, Tasmanian blackwood,
spruce and various cypresses.
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| The welcome |
Woodside welcome
John and Rosalie welcomed three bus loads of farm foresters at our
first stop beside an arboretum of 14 southern beeches. After John gave
a brief safety talk and an acknowledgement of assistance from several
organisations we set off through a mix of native and exotics and were
pleasantly surprised by very strong native bird song.
What a great start to the day for all the visitors. I paused to
consider why so many people were here? Why had we been warned to book
early? Quite simply, the Wardles are well known for their special
forestry approach −
- John wrote the The New Zealand Beeches in 1984
- Rosalie and John registered the first Sustainable Forest
Management Plan in New Zealand
- Woodside Forest has received a number of awards including the
1995 South Island Farm Forester of the Year, and the 2003
Transpower-Landcare Trust award for innovation in sustainable farm
forestry. In 2004 it was one of three forests selected in New
Zealand by the UNFAO as demonstrating exemplary forest management.
- Both beech and pine are being harvested systematically using
selection systems based on target diameter rather than area and
rotation period. The pine is sold as logs on a graded sale basis, and
the beech is contract cut on the site.
- The total property is in the process of being placed in a QE II
Open Space Covenant which will allow continued sustainable harvest of
both the beech and pine.
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Bee feeding on honeydew on the beech bark
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Then there is John’s work for the indigenous forests section and its
magazine Indigena.
Some foresters believe that the Wardles’ innovative forest management
style has evolved to accommodate their difficult environment –
- Altitude range 400 to 550 metres above sea level
- Rainfall average of 1300 mm a year
- Winter snow falls of 120 mm are common, and occasionally as in
1973 and 1992, falls of more than a metre
- The north west wind is frequently of gale force.
The management strategy for both black beech and radiata pine has been
to develop a continuous-cover, uneven age structure in both forest
types. The aim is to promote stability at stand and forest level,
retain and enhance biodiversity and wildlife habitat, and positive cash
flow. This is being achieved by selective harvesting of trees of a
target diameter, rather than harvesting by area and rotation period.
This uses natural regeneration rather than replanting, with thinning
and pruning to promote the development of a high quality future crop.
Radiata morning
Most of the morning was spent in radiata pine planted in 1973 and 1974.
First, we saw a demonstration of selective logging by Phil Russell
Logging of Oxford − a two-man crew with a Clark 666C skidder. Two trees
were felled, the first with machine assistance. Both trees had been
previously marked by John as being over 60 cm diameter at breast
height, the target diameter. Consideration is also given to tree form,
gap creation to aid regeneration and spacing of residual trees. A
harvest site normally involves a single tree, although groups of two to
trees may be harvested where this assists site development.
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| Demonstration of selective radiata logging |
Very precise controlled directional felling is essential to prevent
damage to the residual crop and to protect existing regeneration. It
includes techniques such as pulling trees uphill during felling. This
was followed by trimming, log making and cross-cutting, all at the
stump. The resulting logs were then skiddered to a mini landing
from where they were loaded and carted away by MWT of Rangiora using a
self loading log truck. At this stage Leith Christie of Forest
Management, Phil Russell and of course John Wardle capably fielded the
many questions.
Lunch was beside the homestead with brief talks by Peter Buckley of
Farmers Mutual on tree insurance and negligence, and Rob Miller of MAF
Indigenous Forestry Unit.
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| John Wardle answering questions |
Beech afternoon
The afternoon saw the focus change to beech management. We were shown a
natural pole stand, then a 20-year-old regenerated stand dating from
harvest in 1987. This demonstrated current silvicultural
practice. About 800 stems per hectare are selected on the basis
of spacing, form and vigour, and all competing stems are removed from a
one metre radius around each.
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