Silviculture and forest management
- To prune or not to prune - That is the question (Access: NZFFA membership)
Don Wallace, August 2021
About 15 years ago, my wife and I purchased a 50-hectare forestry block, most of which had been recently logged. We had the harvested area re-planted in radiata pine and…
- The time for extended rotations has arrived (Access: NZFFA membership)
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: NZFFA membership)
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…
- Selection harvesting of radiata pine (Access: NZFFA membership)
John Wardle, November 2019
Judging by the number of articles which have appeared in the February and May issues of the Tree Grower, there is obviously a certain amount of interest in selective harvesting…
- 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…
- Wensleydale 2016 woodlot harvest of an agro-forestry block (Access: unrestricted)
Nick Seymour, May 2017
We planted three agro-forestry woodlots with trees at a spacing of ten by eight metres equivalent to 150 trees a hectare. The first woodlot was planted in 1986 with GF…
- 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…
- 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…
- Lincoln University agroforestry experiment findings (Access: unrestricted)
Don Mead and Dick Lucas, February 2008
Since the Lincoln University agroforestry experiment was established in 1990, over 30 scientific papers have been published. However, as most of these have been in overseas journals where they are…
- Wide planting does not work (Access: unrestricted)
Ken Jones and Neil Cullen, February 2008
In the 1980s the wide spacing of radiata pine was a popular strategy with farm foresters. The advocates of this system believed that the reduced establishment and tending costs and…
- Plantation silviculture at the crossroads (Access: unrestricted)
Euan Mason, May 2007
What do you think of New Zealand? The classic question reputedly asked of so many visitors has provoked a variety of answers. John Lennon replied that after 10 minutes on…
- Coast redwood silviculture in New Zealand (Access: unrestricted)
Mark Dean, February 2007
Californian coastal redwood, Sequoia sempervirens, has proved to grow well in New Zealand when correct siting and establishment practices are attended to. On good quality sites – warm, sheltered and with…
- Pruning and thinning eucalyptus - Stringybark eucalypt silviculture (Access: unrestricted)
Dean Satchell, November 2006
Equipped with a harness, pole-pruner and ladder Silviculture of eucalypts for solid-timber requires some understanding of the tree and the timber. That is, a level of skill and knowledge guiding…
- Pruning young poplars (Access: unrestricted)
Sarah Hurst, Ian McIvor, Carlo van den Dijssel, Steve Green, Lindsay Fung, Grant Douglas and Lex Foote, May 2006
Since the 1950s over six million poplars have been planted throughout New Zealand. Planting reached a peak during the 1970s in response to government incentives for soil conservation. Unfortunately many…
- Tools for pruning radiata pine (Access: unrestricted)
Chris Meads – Levin Sawmakers, August 2005
If you have decided to prune, then use the right pruning equipment. The two most common methods of pruning are with manual loppers and saws, or a petrol-driven top-handled chainsaw.…
- Why pruning/clearwood is one of our major competitive advantages: Denis Hocking's blog, June 14, 2022
Most members will be only too aware of this, but sometimes I feel it is worth restating and discussing the obvious. I will start by pointing out that knot free…
- Why I became, and remain, a clearwood advocate: Wink Sutton's Blog, October 04, 2019
Only recently have I become aware of the concept of unique special product or proposal. However, I now realise that for most of my forestry life I have been seeking…
- Live radiata pine stem needles must be removed at pruning: Wink Sutton's Blog, November 28, 2018
On a recent Bay of Plenty field day, questions were asked about the need to remove live stem needles at the time of pruning. If live stem needles are not…
- Is there a case for timely pruning?: Wink Sutton's Blog, May 29, 2018
Two principles have emerged from a lifetime of plantation management research − That the size and the quality of trees at harvest are determined by the decisions at the time of…
- Ringbarking as a method for thinning trees: Dean Satchell's blog, April 13, 2018
Radiata pine, because of a long history of genetic improvement, is often planted at stockings of less then 1000 stems per hectare. Douglas fir, on the other hand, is often…
- Thoughts on silviculture: John Purey-Cust Ponders, June 12, 2014
My last effort was on the vexed question of whether or not to prune and thin radiata pine. There I think I concluded helpfully that in the end its over…
- The everlasting argument: John Purey-Cust Ponders, March 06, 2014
The everlasting argument, whether to prune or not to prune , depends on you. No one who gives you advice knows any better than you, whatever their experience. They can…
- Model to predict the effects of pruning and early thinning on the growth of radiata pine
FRI Bulletin No. 5, West, G. G., R. L. Knowles and A. R. Koehler (1982).
- New approaches to spacing and thinning in plantation forestry. Proceedings of a IUFRO symposium held at the Forest Research Institute, Rotorua, New Zealand, 10-14 April, 1989
FRI Bulletin No. 151, James, R. N. and G. L. Tarlton (1989).
- Pruned stand certification: A manual of procedures
FRI Bulletin No. 167, Somerville, A. (1995).
- Silvicultural Systems
Matthews, J. D. (1991). Silvicultural Systems. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Standard text on silivcultural systems from clearcut to selection and including coppice and agroforestry.
- The Practice of Silviculture: Applied forest ecology
Smith, D. M., Larson, B. C., Kelty, J., Mark, P., & Ashton, S. (1997 ). The Practice of Silviculture: Applied forest ecology (9 ed.). USA: John Wiley and Sons.
Classic American forestry textbook for those interested in applying ecological principles to managing trees
Farm Forestry - Headlines
Article archive »
- Fieldays Forestry Hub to demonstrate that forestry is a solution
Monday, November 28, 2022
A range of solutions to farmers’ current problems will be on display in the Fieldays Forestry Hub near Hamilton between 30 November and 3 December, says Farm Forestry Association president,…
- Innovative uses of forestry and wood products unveiled at Fieldays
Thursday, November 24, 2022
New and innovative uses of forestry and wood products will be on display at 35 stands in the Fieldays Forestry Hub near Hamilton between 30 November and 3 December, including…
- Pine conspiracy needs reality check
Thursday, November 10, 2022
Farm Foresters are saying journalists and commentators need to educate themselves about the reality of plantation forestry. The FFA President, Graham West says ‘Frequent anti-pine rants on Newstalk ZB and…
- Farming’s forestry hysteria
Sunday, October 30, 2022
Beef &Lamb NZ and Federated Farmers media release on recent results of an opinion survey on forestry offset adds to the misuse of information that’s building alarm and public hysteria…
- Foresters ask James Shaw if the government wants more trees or not
Tuesday, October 11, 2022
Foresters are saying a suggestion by Climate Change Minister James Shaw to centralise buying carbon credits in central government, and decoupling the Emissions Trading Scheme from forestry, is a message…
- NZFFA submission on Industry Transformation Plan
Thursday, October 06, 2022
The Ministry for Primary Industries has issued a draft Forestry and Wood Processing Industry Transformation Plan. This is a welcome contribution and appears to be well researched, but we feel…
- RECOGNITION FOR FORESTRY’S HIGHEST ACHIEVERS IN 2022
Sunday, September 18, 2022
This week at an awards dinner held in Auckland the New Zealand Institute of Forestry (NZIF) announced the winners of its three most prestigious awards. The 2022 recipients are acknowledged…
- Wooden cities key to cutting worldwide carbon emissions to combat climate change
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
The Forest Owners Association President is predicting massive increases in the worldwide demand for engineered timber construction. Grant Dodson has told delegates at the Forest Institute Conference in Auckland today…
- Forestry Transformation Plan could be ‘game changer’
Sunday, August 21, 2022
Forestry Transformation Plan could be ‘game changer’ for New Zealand economy and for combating climate change The Forest Owners Association says the Forestry and Wood Processing Industry Transformation Plan has…
- New campaign launches to attract more people into forestry careers
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
A new recruitment campaign called ‘Find Your Fit In Forestry’ aims to draw attention to the varied career opportunities available in the growing forestry industry. A sector-wide initiative, the campaign…
- Trees on Your Farm – Pilot Workshops
Friday, July 01, 2022
In May, members of the NZFFA held three pilot workshops in the lower North Island aimed at encouraging hill country farmers to grow more trees. The format was a day…
- Federated Farmers struggling with both the law and arithmetic
Thursday, June 30, 2022
The Forest Owners Association says Federated Farmers have got their sums wrong on the rate of forest planting and don’t understand the law on overseas investment either. FOA is responding…
- New Zealand Future Foresters part of the launch of Global Network for Forestry Young Professionals
Sunday, June 12, 2022
Future Foresters New Zealand is supporting a global effort to unite forestry young professionals to promote, grow, and raise awareness of the importance and opportunities of the forest sector. The…
- Forest Owners say native trees are nice but won’t solve the Climate Emergency
Tuesday, May 17, 2022
The Forest Owners Association says the just released Emissions Reduction Plan is a welcome and unprecedented blueprint for reducing New Zealand’s gross emissions. But the Association is warning that a…
- ‘Smart spade’ one of new technologies for forest silviculture project
Thursday, May 05, 2022
A ‘smart spade’ which identifies exactly where to plant a tree seedling is just one of the new technologies in the seven-year $25.5 million Precision Silviculture development project. The newly…
- Forest Owners call for forest trade mission to India
Monday, April 11, 2022
Forest Owners call for forest trade mission to India following approval of new fumigant for log exports The Forest Owners Association wants a delegation of government ministers to urgently go to…
- Forest Owners and Federated Farmers mourn passing of former Chief Executive of both organisations
Sunday, April 03, 2022
The pastoral and forest industries are mourning the recent passing of Rob McLagan, who served as Chief Executive of both Federated Farmers and the Forest Owners Association. Rob was CE…
- Joint efforts under way after unwanted pest detected in Tauranga
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
Biosecurity New Zealand is working with primary sector and Te Tiriti partners after a single confirmed egg mass belonging to the moth pest the fall armyworm was found in Tauranga.…
- Forest Biosecurity update March 2022
Thursday, March 10, 2022
Check out the latest Biosecurity newsletter which gives an update on the biosecurity surveillance system, pitch pine canker, red needle cast, tortoise beetles, a new ladybird (always good) and the…
- Forest Owners says IPCC doesn't back Anne Salmond
Wednesday, March 02, 2022
The Forest Owners Association says highly qualified reservations in the latest International Panel on Climate Change report, do not back anthropologist Anne Salmond’s claims that New Zealand should switch exclusively…