A national forestry initiative with roots in Marlborough has won more than NZ$200,000 in additional government funding to set up eucalypts in some of New Zealand’s driest regions. Sources: Stuff, The Marlborough Express
The New Zealand Dryland Forests Initiative, which is establishing forests of genetically improved durable eucalypts in New Zealand’s driest regions, will get NZ$216,000 of Sustainable Farming Fund money towards a three-year program worth more than half a million dollars.
This is on top of a $399,000 grant in 2010 to pay for planting breeding populations of durable eucalypt species, allowing the project to extend into dryland areas from Bay of Plenty to North Canterbury.
Marlborough-based project manager Paul Millen said the “fantastic” news would see the initiative extended to new landowners and regions, with a focus on species-specific management of the existing and new blocks.
“The past five years have seen us establish over 120,000 trees in research trials from Bay of Plenty to North Canterbury. The key to this project is in helping our landowners and growers get optimal success from the trees,” said Millen.
“That included research and training in silviculture. We want growers to know and understand that they are very different to managing pine trees.”
The project will look at the potential of the eucalypt species on various sites to produce pole and post wood from short rotations.
“In forestry, we look at 30-year horizons, and here we are looking at potential to grow pole and post wood in 10 to 15 years.”
One of the aims was to create hardwood posts to replace CCA-treated pine in New Zealand vineyards and orchards. The results of trials involving “wild seed” from selected eucalypts would be compared later with the genetically improved species.
The initiative also wanted to diversify New Zealand’s timber supply, making high-quality durable hardwood available locally in place of some of the NZ$270 million of hardwoods imported each year.
Project supporter Marlborough Lines hoped to develop domestic durable eucalypt for hardwood cross arms on its power lines. There was also the potential to create a high-value hardwood export timber industry in New Zealand’s east coast regions, worth NZ$2 billion by 2050.
The Ministry of Primary Industry’s Sustainable Farming Fund invests in farmer, grower and forester-led projects that deliver economic, environmental and social benefits to New Zealand’s primary industries.
Millen said the new grant was due to the continued support of landowners and other financial supporters, who would provide another NZ$318,000 in cash and in-kind contributions.
The initiative’s founding partners include the Marlborough Research Centre, New Zealand School of Forestry (University of Canterbury), Vineyard Timbers and Proseed NZ.
