Means to excellence through plantation establishment: the New Zealand experience
We must be wary of orthodoxy in forestry practices, and treat all lore with kindly skepticism. All optimum forestry solutions are local solutions - technology must be related to the local species, the local nursery site. Some decision on the purpose of the forest crop must be made at the time of stand establishment. Market, technological, and even political changes can affect these objectives, and in turn shape all phases of our silviculture. We must always be aware of, and make provision for, these technological and economic interrelationships. A change of technique at one point in the silvicultural system may make it necessary to alter other features of the production cycle. Intensive forestry production also requires strict attention to detail particularly in the establishment phase. Three quarters of production problems can be overcome by excellent establishment. The effects of proper spacing on bare-root seedlings are discussed by methods of precision sowing, conditioning, and mechanization of operations are evaluated. The period from lifting to planting, the most neglected in the nursery research repertoire, is considered. Handling techniques, planting techniques, and site preparation, including fertilization and weed control, are critical to successful stand establishment, and corrective measures such as blanking, releasing, and correction of toppling are expensive and less than satisfactory. The best silvicultural programs still involve prevention of such problems through proper nursery and planting practices, and where machines can be developed to support these practices, they almost always to a better job than people, although they are not necessarily cheaper. (Refs. 29)
- Research Organization:
- New Zealand Forest Service, Forest Research Inst.
- OSTI ID:
- 5644812
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-7904209-
- Journal Information:
- Weyerhaeuser Sci. Symp.; (United States), Vol. 1; Conference: Forest plantations conference on the shape of the future, Tacoma, WA, USA, 30 Apr 1979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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