In the year to April 2006, 12,900ha of forests were not replaced after being felled, the equivalent to a third of the total amount of timber harvested over the period.
It is the second consecutive year that the annual MAF report into New Zealand’s forest area has recorded a decrease, although the authors have said that this land will be transformed into pasture and that “changes in land use are not unusual”.
MAF’s report has also shown which species are dominant in New Zealand’s production forests, with radiata pine making up 89%, Douglas fir 6% and the rest from a variety of hardwood and softwood species.
