1 Introduction
This is the 22nd edition of the National Exotic Forest Description (NEFD) report. The report provides a detailed description of New Zealand's planted production forests as at 1 April 2005. It represents the planted production forest area (net stocked), that is, grown with the intention of producing wood or wood fibre.
New Zealand's forest resource description is published annually to assist with resource and policy planning. It provides data to be used for government policy advice, to meet a range of international reporting obligations and to assist with infrastructure planning decisions. The information may also be a useful starting point for investigating wood processing opportunities in New Zealand.
The report provides:
- an overview of New Zealand's planted forests;
- a description of survey methods, sources of information and details on the reliability of the data;
- statistical tables that describe New Zealand's planted forests in detail.
Much of the report's content consists of detailed tables that show plantation forests' areas by age class and territorial authority. This information is provided for key species. For radiata pine, area by age class tables are also provided by silviculture regime.
The 2005 edition also presents the results of new questions asked in the 2005 survey. This new information includes separate age class tables for cypress species and eucalyptus species, previously included in 'other softwoods' and 'hardwoods' respectively. New information on harvested areas not intended to be replanted and the volumes of radiata pine clear felled by log grade is also provided. Work in these areas is still incomplete, and this information should be regarded as preliminary at this stage.
The collection and publication of NEFD information are overseen by the NEFD Steering Committee - a forest industry committee with members nominated by the New Zealand Forest Owners Association and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
Each year the NEFD area database is compiled from a survey of forest owners and consultants who own or manage planted production forests. The yield table database is compiled periodically and is based on data provided by forest owners and managers of larger forests.
The tables from this report can be downloaded as Microsoft Excel files.
Contact for Enquiries
MAF Information Services
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526
Wellington, NEW ZEALAND
Fax: +64 4 894 0721
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