The silvicultural legacy of R.T. Fenton – its genesis, its heyday and reflections

Authors: Rowland D Burdon and Bruce Manley
Publication: New Zealand Journal of Forestry, Volume N.Z.J.For. 2025, Issue N.Z.J.For. 70(1) 2025, pp 11-16, May 2025
Publisher: New Zealand Institute of Forestry

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Abstract: Early attempts to grow radiata pine in New Zealand with regimes that included commercial thinnings were generally frustrating. Extraction of thinnings was typically very unprofitable and severely compromised the volume and value of the final crop. In response, R.T. Fenton led the development of the direct sawlog silvicultural regime. In it, thinnings are early, heavy and entirely pre-commercial. Combined with aggressive pruning and a shortened rotation, this became the predominant regime in New Zealand from around 1970. Concerns over underestimated sacrifices in stem volume production, and poor form on some sites, led to upwards revision of final stockings. The mid-1990s, with forest ownership changes and concerns over rising costs, have been followed by a significant shift away from pruning. However, an unpruned direct sawlog regime, as proposed by Fenton for the production of framing timber, has become the norm but again with a higher final stocking.

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