O Tātou Ngāhere is a programme launched on Thursday night by Pure Advantage and Tāne’s Tree Trust that not only calls for greater ambition in meeting the commission’s target, but also seeks an urgent change to the way native forests are planted, managed and valued.
Tane Tree Trust trustee Ian Brennan, who runs a small drystock farm providing dairy grazing near Cambridge that he aims to half plant in native trees, says while pine trees have been the focus of a lot of plantings for those targeting carbon credits, he cannot imagine anyone regretting planting natives – although they are a much longer-term project.
It’s just a matter of looking beyond short-term costs and financial benefits in the current environment to what will be better for the country in the future.
Brennan and wife Trisha Wren’s farm is just under 90ha, of which about 30ha has been planted in trees. He plans to plant another 5ha, which will complement the 16ha of land on the property that is under a QEII covenant.
Wren runs an equine business from home and the couple also rent out a converted woolshed as a homestay, so they have other income outside the farm, which allows Brennan to pursue his native tree planting goals.
The major species he has planted is totara at about 4m spacings, with a nurse crop at 2m spacing in between. That’s about 2500 stems a hectare.
He’s also planted a variety of other species, including rimu, matai, kahikatea, tanekaha and rewarewa.
He says because of the steepness of the land it wasn’t a big sacrifice to turn it back into native bush, but that does not mean the trees cannot be harvested in the future.
“A lightbulb went on and I thought ‘you’re spending all this money and effort turning what was productive land and you’re giving it back to nature’,” Brennan said.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with taking a little piece and making something sustainable for the future.
“Continuous cover forestry, that’s what I’m trying to set up here. A forest that can be managed for a sustainable forever supply of timber.”
That means trees that are highly valued for the quality of their timber being individually felled rather than clear felled, allowing ecosystems and their biodiversity to be maintained.
To allow for that, and forest management along the way, Brennan has cut tracks through areas before planting to allow future access.
He says because the trees are a valuable resource, people in the future will manage the forest and look after it, although he is only going to be around for the beginning.
“It would be nice to see the canopy close, but ultimately my job is a forest starter, that’s the way I see it here,” he said.
He says meeting the commission’s goal is going to require a lot of forest management on reverting land, including steep hill country.
The O Tātou Ngāhere report aims to assist that by delivering a suite of 37 articles by New Zealand and global experts via an interactive website, as well as a short documentary available on the Pure Advantage website and to be hosted on TVNZ On Demand.
Pure Advantage trustee Sir Stephen Tindall believes that the commission’s goal is achievable under current settings, but with the right changes to regulations and incentives between 1-2 million hectares of new permanent native forest cover is possible.
“Successfully achieving this could reduce our current carbon footprint by 25-50%.”
But to deliver those numbers a major shift in policy and practice is required,” Tindall said.
“We need a revolution in the way we think and act regarding native forests.
“We must find ways to engage young people and encourage private landowners to plant and regenerate native trees – on farms, on marginal land, on lifestyle blocks, through civic partnerships and in our urban environments.
“In the process we’ll unlock a myriad of new opportunities and benefits, from sustainable tourism and timber harvesting, to restoring the mauri of our land and replenishing our biodiversity. This programme of work is about integrating native forest into our whenua for the benefit of all.”
Tāne’s Tree Trust chair and former president of the NZ Forest Owners Association Peter Berg says the predominance of pine in NZ forestry needs to be reconsidered.
“Pinus radiata is a spectacular tree for many reasons. It has served NZ extremely well and made a massive contribution to our economy, but we should not limit our thinking to plantation forestry in every situation, nor have it the only tree that we plant at scale. We need to see the same level of research, investment and interest in other species including NZ natives – and the rewards will follow,” Berg said.
“This report sets out some bold thinking about what needs to be done if we are to unlock the full potential of NZ’s native forests – for commercial, cultural and spiritual benefit.”
