Independent Forestry Services' Coast Redwood
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Redwood is a species with great potential for New Zealand. The New Zealand Redwood Potential.New Zealand Redwoods grow exceedingly well, outstripping the Californian growth rates, with New Zealand offering a number of other advantages for investors over California. As well as more rapid rates of growth, New Zealand offers fewer restrictions and greater flexibility in establishing, managing and harvesting forests. In addition New Zealand occupies the same latitudes south of the equator and has similar climatic conditions, as do Redwoods in their natural habitat north of the equator. This, plus restrictive Californian harvesting regulations, has identified New Zealand as the single most significant alternative growing location in the world.
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The Coast Redwood's HistoryCoast Redwood is a species unrivalled by any other commercial variety throughout the world. The old northern Californian and southern Oregon Redwoods, some more than 2,000 years old, have in their lifetime withstood floods, fires and windstorms. Historically, Redwoods have contributed to many Californian cultures including native American Indians, Russian explorers, Spaniards, settlers and latterly, the Californians themselves. In times of depression, while other forest owners struggled to survive, the Redwood's versatility, huge wood volume and comparatively high prices carried their fortunate owners through the hard times. 'Old Growth' Redwood Forest and CoppicingSince the 1850's and peaking in the mid to late 1940's, most of the original 'old growth' forest has been harvested. Harvesters paid little attention to re-establishing Redwoods until the early 1960's, when the Redwoods re-established themselves by coppicing (sprouting) from the stumps. For the last twenty to thirty years these regenerated, 'young growth' forests have accounted for an increasing portion of the woodland harvest. These days nearly all Redwood production is from 'young growth' forests with little coming from 'old forests', most of which are now preserved in parks and reserves.
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