Private Afforestation Scheme

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31119, 23 July 1966, Page 8

Private Afforestation Scheme

A private afforestation scheme with some unique aspects for New Zealand forestry is being undertaken at Lynton Downs, in the Kaikoura district.

In 1960, the company owning the property engaged a qualified forester with overseas experience, and embarked on a planting programme which eventually could grow to about 600 acres.

was an experimental planting, and was made on a hillside of thick scrub. Mr Atkinson said that in using a mixture of species, his idea was to use one tree to bring another on—either to shelter or to shape, an example being cedar and larch. If one wanted eight rings to the inch in cedar timber, the forest cover was' kept tight, and as it grew the ! larch could be taken out as a catch crop. Mr Atkinson said in this plantation there would eventually be a 25-yard spacing of oak, Douglas fir and cedar. In planting mixtures, Mr Atkinson recommended planting three rows of the catch crop (larch) then three rows of mixed species to obtain a 75/25 ratio. All seedlings for the Lynton Downs plantations have been grown in the property's own nursery, and, at one to two years of age, they are planted on a hillside bed to harden off. Mr Atkinson said they avoid wrenching their seedlings before planting out. With hard nor’-westers, the trees needed a strong root system. Mr Atkinson said he aims to produce in the nursery the same conditions that a seedling would have under a parent tree. Under the German Dunemann system, he used a complete leaf mulch for planting the seed, finally covering with a fine layer of gravel. A 50/50 mixture of leaf mulch and compost could also be used, he said, but the compost had to be good, otherwise there would be weedgrowth. Next year, Mr Atkinson is going to try a Swiss-type seedling bed, consisting of a leaf mulch on top of a mineral base. The first planting at Lynton Downs was made in 1959 —a year before Mr Atkinson was engaged—and consisted of 30 acres, larch being put on a steep hillside, and pinus on a flat. These will produce about 750 stems to the acre for post thinnings, and will eventually be underplanted with Douglas fir. Mr Atkinson said manuka was being left in the plantings because of the nor’westers. Thinnings would not be taken till the canopy of the plantation closed at 40ft

Lynton Downs, of 7800 acres, is situated on the inland road between Kaikoura and Waiau, and was the venue of a field day last week for the North Canterbury Farm Forestry Association. In charge of the project is a genial Yorkshireman, Mr G. A. Atkinson, who quickly acknowledged that some of his views would not be accepted by some Forest Service officials. But he told visitors that one could not run a small forest the same way as a State forest. It was very much like a small farm as against a large farm.

Mr Atkinson is experimenting with mixtures of species in the same forest, such as cedar, larch, Douglas fir, and oak, and the Lynton Downs forests will eventually supply a specialised field such as quality timber for furniture. Planting at Lynton Downs is being done at the rate of 25 acres a year, with the first phase due for completion in 1969. There will then be 225 acres in trees. Belgian System Mr Atkinson said it would take 10 years to obtain a forest environment. He is a student of the Belgian system of forest management, for he rates the Belgians as the best foresters in the world. He explained that the Belgian forests were mixed

forests, with underplanting of new species, thinning out of “catch” crops, and harvesting of mature trees being carried out in the same area. At all times the aim was to preserve the forest environment. “There is no such thing as plant, thin out. then cut out,” Mr Atkinson said. “They go along with nature all the way. They never let the noon-day sun on the forest floor.” Mr Atkinson elaborated on this ideal when the visitors inspected a mixed plantation of larch, cedar, oak and Douglas fir in the afternoon. This

Mr Atkinson emphasised the importance of preserving the canopy of the forest, in order to prevent wind-blow, and it was on this aspect of forest management that he pointed to the Belgian system of planting mixed forests. Very good results are being obtained at Lynton Downs by planting in furrows, but it has a disadvantage in that the trees become subject to windsway. Mr Atkinson took the visitors to a block of radiata pine planted two years ago in furrows. Following heavy rain, followed by strong (winds earlier in the winter, many of the young trees became very loose at ground- ; level, and will have to be heeled in. Radiata pine is being planted in exposed areas of Lynton Downs. Some of the plantations are also ringed with Douglas fir, one reason being that hardwoods are of use in fire protection. Mr Atkinson believes that in order to make a forest a complete economic unit, one should keep planting 25 acres a year for 60 years in order to

maintain the ancillary services associated with forestry, and also to avoid years of shortages and years of oversupply. In a district like Kaikoura, he considers 1000 acres is required for present and future use. As an example, 250 acres of thinnings a year would be required to keep a preserving plant going. But the question was, could one find the land and services to cope with it. This was a question a lot of people never gave a thought.