Kauri Trees Ltd has started the transformation of 20 ha of pasture on its 28 ha property, planting 7,300 native nurse trees[1] over one third of the pasture in August 2023. A mix of 21 different varieties of indigenous nurse trees will provide weather protection to the Kauri and create light competition to draw them upwards rather than outwards as they grow. The nurse trees were grown in Dunedin by Ribbonwood Nurseries from seeds collected locally. The varieties are consistent with the flora in the existing gullies on the property. “By planting a diverse range of nurse trees, we will mitigate weather events, such as a heavy frost or a dry summer” said Kauri Trees owner Peter Parsons. “The diversity will also create a more natural ecosystem, attracting more native fauna to the forest” he continued.
Planning started in the lead-up to finalising the purchase of the property in May 2022. “It’s wonderful to move from the planning stage to implementation” stated Peter. Although -46 degrees latitude is much further south than where Kauri typically grow, scientists at Scion advised that with the right preparation, the Kauri trees should grow with minimal losses. The climate will also likely warm in Otago over their 1,000+ year lifetime gradually making them feel more at home. Over the past summer, Kauri Trees sourced 34,000 seeds from three separate locations in Northland, Coromandel and Tauranga. The seedlings are currently being propagated at Ribbonwood Nursery, in preparation for planting from May 2025. “We hope to get around 25,000 stems and will be planting 20,000 Kauri over three planting periods. Based on tree count, we believe this will make it the largest planted Kauri forest in New Zealand” according to Parsons.
[1] A nurse tree is a tree that can provide enhanced survival to smaller plants by providing it with protection from the sun, wind, and other sources of mortality.
Native nurse trees planted at the site.
Growing trees as a permanent protected forest rather than for harvesting requires a different approach to planting. “We didn’t want regular rows and columns of trees, so we engaged local company Habitat Restorations Aotearoa, who specialises in conservation planting, to undertake contour planting of the rolling land” said Peter. The pasture has been separated into three areas using the existing fence lines. Planting will be undertaken in August and May each year, finally being completed in May 2026. Spreading planting over time reduces the risk of tree loss due to adverse weather and provides the necessary time for both the nurse trees and the Kauri to grow. As the Kauri grow, they will crowd out most of the nurse trees and dominate the forest.
“We are going to record the GPS location of each Kauri tree and fit a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag to each so we can capture individual tree growth data” Peter told us. This will provide researchers with a unique data set and show any tree growth differences between the seed sources. “Any tree growth performance differences are less useful if we don’t have clear seed provenance, so fitting an RFID tag to each tree will result in more reliable records that might support useful future scientific publications”. With a better understanding of both the process and the results of this project, other landowners may decide to follow Kauri Tree’s lead with their own Kauri plantations. More information is available from the website www.kauritrees.nz.
Ekos is assisting Kauri Trees Ltd with the registration of this project into the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme. We applaud the work Peter is doing, his passion for the environment and innovative approach to creating this project.
Images credit: Peter Parsons