Quantifying the small-scale owners’ estate in Canterbury, Otago and Southland

Authors: Bruce Manley, Justin Morgenroth, Rien Visser, final year BForSc students of 2015, final year BForSc students of 2016
Publication: New Zealand Journal of Forestry, Volume N.Z.J.For. 2017, Issue N.Z.J.For. 62(3) 2017, pp 24-32, Nov 2017
Publisher: New Zealand Institute of Forestry

---

Abstract: According to the National Exotic Forest Description (NEFD), the small-scale forest estate accounts for 520,000 ha of the New Zealand plantation estate of 1,705,000 ha. It is becoming increasingly important for wood production as the large area of 1990s afforestation matures. However, there is uncertainty about the actual area of the small-scale estate, the percentage of area that will be economic to harvest and its potential future yield. As part of Management Case Study in 2015 and 2016, Bachelor of Forestry Science students mapped the smallscale estate in Canterbury, Otago and Southland. Forest boundaries were mapped in a geographic information system (GIS), based on visual interpretation of aerial photography. It was found that the mapped area of small-scale estate is only 56% of the NEFD estimate in Canterbury, 96% in Otago and 75% in Southland. The total plantation area was estimated by adding the NEFD area for the large-scale estate to the mapped area of the small-scale estate. The Land Use and Carbon Analysis System (LUCAS) plantation area is 59%, 18% and 26% higher in the three regions, respectively. These differences arise because LUCAS is based on gross rather than net area and because of misclassification of land-uses.

---