6 Planting and Harvesting Estimates

New Planting and Restocking Estimates

The 2004 calendar year estimate of total planting is 50 200 hectares. This is made up of 10 600 hectares of new planting and 39 600 hectares of restocking. The new planting estimate is calculated from total seedling numbers sold by forest nurseries, and the restocking estimate is based on data collected from forest owners in the 2005 NEFD survey. Approximately 42 700 hectares of previously harvested forest remained unplanted awaiting restocking as at 1 April 2005. It is provisionally estimated that 6000 hectares of new planting occurred during the 2005 calendar year.

Of the new planting captured directly in the 2005 NEFD survey, 46 percent occurred on unimproved pasture, 18 percent on improved pasture and 36 percent on land where scrub was previously the predominant land cover. Table 6.1 shows in percentage terms the predominant land cover prior to planting since 1993.

The estimates of land cover prior to new planting are based solely on the new planting information collected in postal surveys (see Table 3.1). In some instances postal survey respondents who had undertaken new planting did not state the land cover prior to planting. While the sample size used to derive the proportions of land cover type prior to new planting is considered to be adequate, the estimates are biased towards the practices of the larger forest owners who are fully represented in the postal surveys.

For definitions of these land cover types refer to Appendix 1.

Harvesting Data

The 2005 NEFD survey estimated that the total volume harvested for the year ended 31 March 2005 was 18.3 million cubic metres. It is estimated that 17.6 million cubic metres came from clear felling 39 000 hectares of planted forest, and 0.7 million cubic metres from production thinning.

The total volume of radiata pine harvested in the year ended 31 March 2005 was 16.7 million cubic metres, from clear felling 36 200 hectares of forest. The area-weighted average clear fell age of radiata pine increased from 27.6 years in the year ended 31 March 2004 to 27.9 years in the year ended 31 March 2005.

Of the 16.7 million cubic metres of radiata pine, it is estimated that approximately 68 percent were sold as unpruned logs, 21 percent were sold as pulp and chip logs, and 11 percent were sold as pruned logs. These estimates are based on a new question added to the 2005 NEFD questionnaire. The question was answered by owners representing 80 percent of the total harvest in the reporting year.

Another estimate of roundwood removals from planted forest for the same period was 19.2 million cubic metres (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, February 2006). This estimate is based on the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s annual surveys of forest processing plants and forest product export data from Statistics New Zealand. Conversion factors are used to indirectly estimate roundwood removals.

A project to produce new wood availability forecasts started in early 2006. Separate forecasts will be produced and published for each wood supply region. Once all the regions have been complete a national overview will be produced. The forecasts will aim to incorporate the harvesting intentions of major forest owners.

Table 6.1: Land Cover Prior to New Planting

  Calendar years (%)
  1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2001 2002 2003 2004
Improved pasture 28 49 67 36 43 44 56 68 31 28 18
Unimproved pasture 56 35 22 50 46 47 30 9 49 46 46
Scrub 16 16 11 14 11 9 14 23 20 26 36

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