SFF Project Summary
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Northland Totara Working Group Newsletter 2009 [PDF 2.7M]
Northland Totara Working Group 3rd year Final Report [PDF 3.44M]
Totara Resource Assessment Report 2007 [PDF 3.87M]
Northland Totara Working Group Newsletter July 2008 [PDF 3.13M]
Silvicultural Trials and Wood Quality Studies with Naturally-regenerating Totara Stands, Northland, New Zealand [PDF 2.74M]
Totara Newsletter [258K PDF]
Just How Much Totara is Growing in Northland? [215K PDF]
Pruning and Thinning Farm-grown Totara [1.7M PDF]
Updated: 15 January 2010
Project description
The Northland Totara Working Group was formally established in September 2005 by a wide range of stakeholders in Northland, with additional national input, to support and promote research and technology transfer in the productive management of totara from both naturally regenerating stands and from plantations.
The issue/opportunity
Totara regenerates naturally on farmland in many regions throughout New Zealand. Wood in relatively young, naturally regenerating totara on farms has many of the inherent wood quality properties found in trees logged from old-growth stands (Bergin 2003).
There is increasing interest in actively managing these naturally regenerating stands for sustainable timber production. However there has been very little work carried out on what management is required to maximise the production from these stands. In addition, before a supply and demand chain for sustainable farm-grown totara can be set up more information on the size of the existing resource is required.
Expected nationally important benefits include increased appreciation and retention of naturally regenerating stands of native forest on farmland for significant multiple benefits of sustainable production of timber, enhancing biodiversity and landscape values, improved erosion control and waterway management in our productive landscapes.
The context/background
Typically, totara is regenerating naturally on the less productive slopes in hill country as well as riparian areas, where they often supply shading crucial to water quality enhancement. Unfortunately, in Northland it is often regarded as a weed and relegated to use for firewood. These naturally regenerating stands potentially represent a significant existing and developing resource in our pastoral landscapes and scrubland. Its ability to establish in a paddock and compatibility with livestock farming means it has truly unique potential for widespread integration into our production landscapes.
Methods
The project will run over three years and has four objectives:
- to establish sites around Northland for two demonstration trials evaluating a range of thinning and pruning options in naturally-regenerating stands of totara, and one trial in an established totara plantation;
- to quantify the resource of naturally-regenerating totara on previously cleared land in at least one district in Northland using aerial mapping/photography, GIS technology, etc;
- to evaluate the wood quality of thinnings from selected stands, using both laboratory testing procedures and local processors and end-users in developing and testing demonstration products;
- to compare growth rates, stand productivity and wood quality of extracted thinnings of naturally-regenerating stands with plantation totara.
