Has the Farmers' Party now become the Foresters' Party?

There is something I never see discussed, and that is mono-culture. New Zealand's principal timber source, and the plantings this government is now subsidizing - is Radiata Pine. This tree has been selectively bred, and perhaps genetically engineered in New Zealand, derived from the Monterrey Pine native to the California Coast.

 

Some years ago, when it still existed, I was an investor in Fletcher Forests. In their reports to shareholders they described the mass production of these pines, being planted all over New Zealand. The trees are cloned and are therefore not just a mono-culture, but they are BIO-IDENTICAL !!  This is a recipe for disaster, you get the right pest coming to these shores and the whole lot could be wiped out in a few years.

 

I have experience with this because I was a partner in an effort to crow Monterey Pine as a Christmas tree at about 3000' elevation in Hawaii. The trees grew beautifully, and very quickly for the first few years. Suddenly they were all sickly. Thrips had invaded the plantation, and the only solution was the nasty, toxic and expensive spray - Orthene.  Anyone who wants to see a disaster should see the mountains of British Columbia, and Colorado - standing full of dead trees due to the Pine Beetle: http://www.mpb.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/map_e.html

(the Canadian government has spent $200million on spraying, to little avail)

 

The Radiata Pine is an inherently weak species

"Even in native stands, Monterey pines do not live long; the average life span is 80 to 90 years. A few live 150 years."

 

So what of it ??  If we are going to have carbon sink forests, they should be required to be NZ native hardwoods:

Just the thinning of such forests in 30 years time would have substantial economic benefit, creating product for durable New Zealand made flooring and furniture, exported to the World. Fletcher Forests tried developing pine products for export, but it never worked out and mostly just the logs are shipped out, providing few skipped jobs for Kiwis.

 

So Nick Smith can stand in Parliament and boast of these new 'forests', but I say it just shows that he has not done his homework !

 

Ken Shock