The silviculture and ecology of the New Zealand endemic tree Podocarpus totara (totara) relevant to management for timber production, eiher in plantations or in managed, naturally regenerating second-growth stands, is reviewed. There is increasing interest in information on the management of tree species indigenous to New Zealand for a range of objectives including timber production. Previous studies and observations have identified a range of features that make totara a species worthy of further evaluation for growing as a specialty timber tree. These include its cultural and heritage values; durability and machining qualities of the wood; wide distribution; tolerance of a wide variety of sites; ease with which seedlings can be raised in a nursery; good growth rates; potential genetic gains in both growth and form; and amenability to tending. There is also a range of non-timber benefits in managing a long-term resource of totara. In addition to the interest in planting and managing totara for timber, there is a large resource of naturally regenerating second-growth stands in many regions throughout the country that have the potential to be managed and provide a supply of wood. Matters requiring investigation include quantifying growth rates and yield of both planted and naturally regenerating stands, determining the resource of natural second-growth stands that could & managed, identifying factors that influence the growth of heartwood, identifying low-impact management interventions, and evaluating a range of silvicultural systems that may be suitable for managing totara as a long-rotation specialty species. B99046

Efforts are being made to upscale restoration of New Zealand's native ecosystems. Success depends, however, on consideration of several key issues that need to be built into restoration planning, implementation and monitoring. This study makes eight recommendations to improve the prospect of obtaining the hoped‐for biodiversity conservation outcomes.

The late-winter frost hardiness of seedlings of eight provenances of totara (Podocarpus totara G.Benn. ex I)on) raised in a common environment was tested in a corarolled environment frost room. Frost damage was assessed visually. Frost hardiness temperatures of file provenances ranged from-5~ to-10~ A significant increase in frost damage occtared at lower temperattaes, and the frost hardiness of the wovenances was positively couelated with their altitude of origin. The possibility of allele frequency-depmdent selection for alleles con~elated with frost ~ was explored by aprelimin~ isozyme analysis of fottr variable loci in new foliage of tolara seedlings. Allele frequencies at one locus ofisocitrate dehy&ogenase ([dh-1) a0pemed significantly correlated with provomm~e frost MMiness. These results suggest that environmental pressmes have selected for frost hardiness in totam, and resulted in the evolution of populations of ~ adapted to cmrent local climates.

No abstract

Background: There is increasing interest in establishing indigenous forests on marginal pastoral hill country in New Zealand to improve soil conservation, water quality and indigenous biodiversity. Large-scale reforestation using native seedlings is extremely costly. However, given suitable seed sources, it is possible to encourage natural regeneration of grassland into native plants.