Tane's Tree Trust Talk
About 50- people attended a presentation on Thursday evening by Prof. Warwick Sylvester, co-founder of Tane's Tree Trust, on behalf of Energise Otaki's Carbon Forests project.
Those present heard about the viability of careful selective logging of native trees to off-set costs and also about the importance of maintaining a permanent forest canopy. Prof Sylvester said the timber from some native tree species (totara, kauir, rimu and matai) was highly desirable and we should be able to undertake a small degree of harvesting provided it was done in a way not to damage the roots of surrounding trees. Using vehicles in native forests is a no-no.
It was also very important to control pests that eat fruit and seedlings so the forest can keep regenerating.
He said it was a myth that native trees grow too slowly to be useful for timber production and carbon sequestration. When planted on good land they grow nearly as fast as pinus radiata. Even on difficult land they might grow slowly for the first 30 years but once their crown is above the canopy they can grow very quickly.
He praised the township of Otaki for its vision and innovation in setting up Energise Otaki saying it was a model community for the rest of the country to follow.
