New Zealand Journal of Forestry (1965) 10(1): 25–32
©New Zealand Institute of Forestry
Restoration of the Degraded Lands in New Zealand
Land settlement in the new world has, because of lack of inhibitions in the speed and methods of settlement, sometimes led to extensive areas of degraded land — degraded for a number of reasons: alteration of the vegetation so that it is of no use to man; degeneration of soils physically and chemically, and erosion. In the hilly and mountainous parts of New Zealand where farming and pastoral settlement have stepped over safe boundaries, there are large areas of degraded lands. Agricultural methods have failed mainly because of steepness, but, except where erosion has taken place, the soils are forest soils, the climate suitable for introduced trees. These are the areas to which afforestation must now turn. On the better and more accessible sites, it is economically justifiable. These sites will grow species already accepted by the expanding forest-products industries.