Nutritional assessment for Pinus radiata plantation forestry using a land systems approach: Motueka Forest, New Zealand

Abstract

More than 70% of New Zealand comprises hill an steepland with slopes >12°. Pastoral farming and exotic plantation forestry (dominantly Pinus radiata) are important land uses on this country. Over the past 10 to 15 years, plantation forestry has expanded at a rate of around 70 000 ha y(1 onto hill and steepland which is economically marginal for pastoral farming. Rayonier NZ Ltd own and manage forest plantations in hill and steepland country in NW Nelson. In several of these forests significant nutritional problems exist (Birk and Olykan, 1997). The only soil information available is broad scale (Chittenden et al. 1966). There is a need for detailed soil nutritional information for forests in this area to allow improved forest management decisions. A soil landscape model based on a land systems approach was developed for the Big Pokororo catchment of Motueka Forest to provide this detailed information.