29 August 2013

The government is investing more than $30 million in two major research programmes of direct benefit to forest owners.

In addition, $11.25 m over six years is being invested by government in research into biopolymers, including bioresins and biofoams, to help exporters respond to the growing global demand for products with renewable content. Scion is also a partner in this project.

Announcing the results of the 2013 science investment round, science and innovation minister Steven Joyce said the government will invest $278 million across all sectors.

Sustainable productivity

The productivity programme, Growing confidence in forestry's future, will take a precision approach to growing radiata and involve a government investment of $20.25 million over six years.

The forest sector goal of increasing export returns from $4.7 billion to $12 b by 2022 requires investment in on-shore processing which will occur only if investors are confident there will be an assured supply of high quality wood in the future.

The research team aims to integrate the latest advances in sensor technology, tree physiology, genetics, forest ecology and complex problem-solving to increase the productivity of existing plantation forests in a sustainable way. Key aims include:

•  The development of a systems model of the current forest products value chain to determine where to intervene to maximise benefit,
•  Doubling biological productivity of future forests while improving wood quality and consistency, and
•  Ensuring that NZ's forest products can be sold into key international markets by demonstrating that intensified forest management practices are environmentally and socially sustainable.

The research team will be led by Dr Peter Clinton, and supported by New Zealand and international experts, university, CRI and industry sub-contractors. Cash co-funding of $1.6 million and in-kind co-funding of $2 m will be provided each year by forest owners.

Phytophthora

The phytophthora research, Prosperity from trees: protection from current and future disease, will be funded by the government to the tune of $10.05 m over six years. It will see New Zealand become a world leader in the management of phytophthora in trees.

For forest owners, the most urgent target is red needle cast – a condition that is reducing radiata productivity in several North Island locations. But to many New Zealanders of bigger concern is kauri dieback, a phytophthora that is killing thousands of kauri in conservation forests in the Far North. For apple growers, the concerns are collar and crown rots.

Phytophthora – the word means plant destroyer in Greek – causes huge plant losses worldwide: the most notorious of these, Phytophthora infestans, caused the Irish potato famine. With more than 120 phytophthora species known worldwide, they pose a huge biosecurity risk due to the range of plants they affect, their rapid global spread, sweeping impacts and high costs of management.

This project will build the fundamental knowledge of phytophthora diseases among Scion scientists, with the aim of protecting New Zealand's trees through improved disease resistance and disease management. A key part of that is building an understanding how trees defend themselves against phytophthora attack.

Source: NZ Government media release and MBIE website. For more information, click here.