Workshop Report: Poplar and willow planting for Land Overlay 3A, Gisborne, East Coast region
Summary
The results of the desktop exercise, tempered by the general expertise of the workshop participants and their subsequent comments, plus published results from post-storm surveys of soil conservation plantings, provided the basis for the planting densities now suggested in Table 1. If site factors that potentially could jeopardise a successful erosion control outcome have been taken into account in arriving at the decision to plant poles and/or wands then the recommended densities/spacing, if planted and maintained appropriately, are considered sufficient to provide effective erosion control for Land Overlay 3A and for some eroding adjacent land.
Workshop participants recognised that to achieve effective treatment a combination, rather than a single treatment option, would be required and that the combination should be decided by field inspection of the site. In particular, willow and poplar planting of gullies deeper than five metres, particularly those in bentonite or crushed argillite, are unlikely to be successful unless accompanied by afforestation or reversion of the surrounding watershed.
Contact for Enquiries
East Coast Forestry Project
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Cnr Grey St & Childers Rd
1st Floor ZGFM Building
PO Box 2122
Gisborne 4040
Tel: +64 6 986 8691
Fax: +64 6 986 8697
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