FOREST SURVEY TO TAKE FIVE YEARS

Chronicle (Levin), 8 June 1946, Page 5

FOREST SURVEY TO TAKE FIVE YEARS

— Press Association

GREATER ACCITRACY IN AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS

Bv Telearavh-

WELLINGTON, June 7. . Long delayed by the war, a eompreliensive survey of New Zealand 's timber resourees is now being made by the State Forest Serviee. The work is expeeted to take five vears. Existing esti matea made many vears ago without the benefit of modern niethods or equipment, are known. to be inaeeurate. The present survey will give much basie data needed for the seientific management of the couutry's indigenous forests. It. will help in detennining the best use of available resourees, will •show whieh forests must be left untouehed as a proteetion against erosion, j will indicate just how :-'oon there must j eome about the inevitable ehange from i tlie use of native to exotie timbers for j building and other purposes, and will j cnable planning in advanee to meetr tliat ehange. The survey is being organised by Alr. | A. I'. Thomson who served during the: war with the Forest ry Group of New! Zealand Enghieers wlijie in England.i Iie speiit a vear wilii the Honiegrown-| Tiinber Production Deparlment of thej British iMinistrv of Supply, assisting to j nmke a rapid esliniate of tlie eountry'Sj tim'lier resourees. Later lie was for sixj mohthg in the United States studying modern inethods of large peale forest survey work. Iie returned to Xew' Zealand a vear ago. ' The nature of Ihe Xew Zealand Imsh had, in tlie pnst, made ueeurate survey-;, iug very diflieult, Alr. Thomson said to-j day. The work, however, had now beenj gieatly simplified by tlie advent of J aerial photograpliy. The lirst step inj current surxey was to obtain a seriesj of aerial pliotogra]dis envering all; l'i 1 e.st s iu the couiitry.- i'.om them ae-. 1 urate tigures for area^ eould be ob-j 1 tained. Withiu the total forest cover, 1 j a eertain unknown ]iroportion repre- j sonted merehantuble timber, a larger: j piopnrtion uinuerchantable timber, and j another proporlion the forest whieh | must be maintained as proteetion' against erosion. .Fnder a stereoseopie exa-minat ion it was possible to mark 011 pholograplis Ihe bonndaiies of various forest types. Seale maps eould tlien be ptepared.