PAPER: Forest restoration through enrichment ...

Restoring mature-phase forest tree species through enrichment planting in New Zealand's lowland landscapes

February 2020

Forbes AS, Wallace KJ, Buckley HL, Case BS, Clarkson BD, Norton DA 2020. Restoring mature-phase forest tree species through enrichment planting in New Zealand's lowland landscapes. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 44(1).

ABSTRACT

To restore secondary forests, depauperate remnant forests and create new forests that have complex structure, high biomass, and natural canopy tree diversity, mature-phase canopy and emergent species should be reintroduced through human interventions (i.e. enrichment planting). Experiments demonstrate that mature-phase tree species establishment can be optimised through canopy manipulation to address competition for light. Such targeted management can determine successful recruitment of mature-phase tree species, as can weed maintenance post-enrichment planting and landscape-level pest animal control. Currently political focus is emphasising planting of new early-successional native forests. However, support from scientific research and policy development is essential to actively recruit mature-phase tree species where they are now poorly represented and hence forest succession may be arrested.

KEYWORDS

broadcast seeding, Emissions Trading Scheme, enrichment planting, forest canopy, forest restoration, mature-phase forest tree species, One Billion Trees, pre-human, restoration plantings, secondary forest