24 November 2022

The Resilient Forests Research Programme started in October 2019. It filled the gap left by the Growing Confidence in Forestry’s Future (GCFF) and Healthy Trees, Healthy Future (HTHF) research programmes.

Building on the rich heritage of research undertaken, the Resilient Forests programme was co-developed with our forest industry stakeholders with the goal of creating and managing forests that are more resilient to future uncertainty.

The current programme also capitalises on previous investments in research infrastructure. For example, new long-term forest management trials designed to increase productive capacity of radiata pine plantations. We seek to address key research questions raised by the GCFF and HTHF programmes.

The Resilient Forests programme is structured around three research aims outlined in the visual below, addressing key research questions. It is designed to ensure the long-term economic, environmental and social sustainability of forestry by creating forests that are more resilient to future uncertainty.

To date, the programme has received combined funding from the Forest Growers Levy Trust and Scion’s Strategic Science Investment Fund to the order of $16.15m. The intent is for the programme to continue until 2025.

Key areas

The structure of the programme and the focus areas in each research aim are shown above.

Initial results from the focus areas were presented at the online Forest Growers Research annual conference in October 2020 and again in 2021. Key publications and FGR Conference presentations can be found on the FGR website.

RFP Technical Notes. https://fgr.nz/rfp-technical-notes
RFP Technical Reports. https://fgr.nz/rfp-technical-reports
Conferences. https://fgr.nz/programmes/conferences

Planning is under way for a Conference in Rotorua in June 2023.

Contact

Peter Clinton - Resilient Forests Research Programme Leader