Restoring land into native forest - The Tīmata Method

Restoring erodible land in New Zealand into native forests has been a challenging and costly process, limiting private landowners' participation in large-scale projects. However, a report funded by Our Land and Water reveals a promising solution - the Tīmata Method.

This method has been proven to be more effective and significantly cheaper than conventional methods, reducing the cost of establishing native trees to almost a third of traditional 'high-density' planting projects. The Tīmata Method involves a colonising forest approach, where kānuka and mānuka are planted at lower densities, acting as a canopy layer for establishing larger trees in the future. Invasive plant and animal control, crucial for the project's success, are integrated into the process, making follow-up weed control on the dramatically cheaper in the long run.

While the Tīmata Method has shown to be successful, there is a need for greater extension and education to spread its benefits and to ensure the availability of resources and pest control management for successful reforestation in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Here is a link to the paper:

https://ourlandandwater.nz/outputs/re...

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