The aims of this thesis were; firstly, to obtain economic values for radiata pine traits to produce appearance and structural lumber, and secondly to analyze the selection of efficient logs and profitable trees to substantiate the development of breeding objectives for solid wood quality. The thesis included three approaches to value wood attributes: hedonic models, partial regressions and stochastic frontiers. Hedonic models generated economic values for pruned and unpruned log traits to produce appearance grades. Values for small end diameter were 0.33, 0.19 and 0.10 US $/mm, and for form 2.6, 1.4 and 0.63 US $ for the first, second and third log respectively. The value of mean internode length was 0.19 US $/cm. Branch size traits were non-significant to explain the log conversion return (p>0.05). The economic value of log traits to produce structural lumber with stiffness of 8, 10 and 12 GPa was estimated with a partial regression. The values were 1.1, 29.7, 0.3 and -0.4 NZ $/m3 for small end diameter (cm), stiffness (GPa), basic density (kg/m3) and largest branch (mm) respectively. Small end diameter and stiffness explained 73% of the variation of log conversion return. The economic values for structural attributes were also derived from a Cobb Douglas stochastic frontier, resulting in 2.1 NZ $/cm for small end diameter and 15.8 NZ $/GPa for stiffness. The change of values between approaches can be attributed to differences of model formulation. The stochastic frontier used aggregate volume of lumber with stiffness of 8 GPa or higher. The partial regression used the economic value of every lumber product derived from the logs, making it more sensitive to changes in wood quality. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) used structural traits and their economic values to assess the technical and economic efficiency of logs to produce lumber with stiffness of 8, 10 and 12 GPa. The most efficient logs had 1:4 ratios between stiffness and small end diameter, whereas logs that did not generate structural lumber had ratios closer to 1:8. Trait economic values from the partial regression analysis were used as attribute prices to estimate cost efficiency. Efficiency measures were significantly correlated with stiffness and log conversion return; however, they were non-significantly correlated with small end diameter and log prices. The technical efficiency of logs to produce structural lumber was also determined using a Cobb Douglas stochastic frontier which determined that the most efficient logs were characterized by a 1:5 ratio between stiffness and small end diameter. Selection of trees for deployment was analyzed with a portfolio model, where risk was represented as the mean absolute deviation of tree returns due to the variability of volume, stiffness and resin defects. Under high variability (risk), the model selected structural trees with large stiffness and high return. These results suggest an opportunity for narrowing genetic variability (via clonal or family forestry) to make the returns from radiata pine structural grades lumber less risky. As variability decreased the portfolio model opted for trees that produced appearance and structural lumber. These trees had a stabilizing effect on their returns, as there were phenotypic tradeoffs between stiffness and volume under optimistic and pessimistic growing scenarios. These results showed the benefits of product diversification at the tree level.

Radiata pine is a major plantation grown wood in the Southern hemisphere, but has inferior dimensional stability and low durability compared to other commercial species and the improvement of these features is the focus of this thesis. Specifically this thesis examines the dimensional stability, durability and mechanical properties of radiata pine after heat-treatment (160-210°C) in linseed oil. Changes in colour, micro-structure and chemistry with heat-treatment were studied. To optimise the treatment results, oil heat-treatment of wood was also carried out after thermo-mechanical compression of wood and the effect of the prior thermo-mechanical compression on stability, durability and mechanical properties were examined. The oil heat-treated wood turned uniformly darker in colour. The hydrophobicity (Water Repellence Efficiency-WRE up to 30%), dimensional stability (Ant-Swelling Efficiency-ASE up to 60%) and fungal resistance (up to 36%) were improved with the extent of the changes mainly depending on treatment temperature. However, the mechanical properties of oil heat-treated wood were reduced compared to the untreated control group. Accelerated UV weathering tests have shown that the oil heat-treated wood retained its colour and dimensional stability better than the untreated wood (the control group). The cell wall of treated wood was intact and no distinct structural changes were observed even at the most severe treatment (210°C for 6 hrs).The treatment resulted in changes to the wood chemical constituents, mainly the degradation of hemicelluloses which is believed to be principal reason for alterations in wood properties. A study of the effect of prolong heating on the linseed oil showed an increase in viscosity with heating time which in turn reduced the oil uptake and water repellency of treated wood. However, no significant difference in the colour and dimensional stability of the treated wood was noticed with oil of different heating ages. Oil absorbed by the wood during heat treatment was removed by organic solvent extraction and its contribution to the weight percentage change and moisture related properties were evaluated. The oil uptake percentage, determined by organic solvent extraction, was greater than the weight percentage loss that was deduced to occur during the heat treatment phase, which was attributed to mass losses or thermal degradation of wood constituents. Moisture excluding efficiency decreased after removal of the oil from treated wood, which suggested that the hydrophobicity of treated wood is affected by oil absorbtion. The influence of the post-treatment cooling period on properties of treated wood was studied separately. Oil uptake increased substantially with the post-treatment cooling time which in turn affected the hydrophobicity of treated wood although this effect was less important to dimensional stability. The loss of mechanical properties due to heat-treatment was successfully countered by thermo-mechanical compression of wood prior to the oil heat-treatment. The wood was compressed to 39% of its original thickness without any visible surface checks and cracks. Spring back and compression set recovery in densified wood decreased after oil heat-treatment. This combination treatment also resulted in improved fungal resistance compared to untreated wood. From this research, it is concluded that oil heat-treatment of radiata pine wood can improve its dimensional stability and durability obviating the need to introduce any persistent toxic chemicals. Thermo-mechanical densification of wood prior to oil heat-treatment can countered the loss of mechanical properties due to heat-treatment. The heating oil can be re-used in subsequent treatments and oil uptake can be minimised by limiting the post-treatment cooling time without any significant effect on the dimensional stability of treated wood.

Needle-to-stem unit rate (NESTUR) is a stem growth index of conifer seedling trees that measures the efficiency of stemwood production per unit of needle growth. Five experiments were carried out in this thesis using progenies of two unrelated full-sib radiata pine crosses. The initial experiment (experiment 1) applied the bulked segregant analysis technique to determine whether RAPD analysis could be successfully extended to the development of molecular markers for NESTUR in radiata pine. The NESTUR values of 174 progenies of the full-sib family 12038 x 10946 were determined. Based on the genotypic analysis of the individuals, two quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling NESTUR were identified at ANOVA P-levels of 0.01-0.001. An absence of RAPD fragment markers generated by primers OPE-06 and OPA-10 was associated with low NESTUR values, while primer UBC-333 generated a 550 bp band that was associated with high NESTUR values. Linkage to components of NESTUR (increments in stem diameter and stem volume) was demonstrated for one of the QTL, while the other was unique to NESTUR, and not shared with the components. There was a significant interaction between the two QTLs. Presence of OPA-101200 locus appeared to inhibit expression of the QTL linked to UBC-333 [subscript 550]. ¶ To further analyse the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) controlling NESTUR, a linkage map was constructed from RAPD markers segregating in 93 haploid progeny of another full sib cross (30040 x 80121) (experiment 2). Two hundred and sixty-two (262) markers were mapped to 14 linkage groups of at least 7 markers, ranging in size from 39 to 183 cM. The 14 linkage groups covered approximately 1511 cM of genetic map distance. ¶ In experiment 3, the linkage map was used to map QTLs controlling NESTUR, as well as increments in seedling stem diameter, volume, and height and needle volume. Altogether, five putative QTLs were detected for NESTUR, with explained variation ranging from 9 to 22%. Of the five QTLs detected, 3 were coincidental with those for stem growth in height, diameter and volume. The two QTL positions that were unique to NESTUR were flanked by QTLs for the component traits. Together, effects of the five QTLs explained 48% of the total phenotypic variation for NESTUR. ¶ Ability of identified markers to predict the phenotype and seedlings with growth potential was assessed in the cross 30040 x 80121, using six RAPD markers associated with NESTUR at ANOVA P-levels of 0.01-0.001 (experiment 4). The correlation between observed NESTUR and predicted values was 0.70. Differences in observed vs. predicted values were not large and did not indicate serious misclassifications, such as classification of an upper ranking individual into the lower group, or vice versa. ¶ Over a two-year growth period, the ability of NESTUR to predict stem growth was strongly affected by seedling age. In contrast, markers linked to NESTUR showed a consistent ability to predict stem growth, irrespective of seedling age. Compared with the top 1% of the original population, seedlings selected for their genotypic values showed a higher stem volume growth of 103% in the first year, and 76% in the second year. ¶ The expression of QTLs for stem volume, stem diameter, height, number of branches, number of whorls, and branches/whorl were compared at 5, 12, and 24 months of age. Two QTLs detected for height showed contrasting expression over two years, one was gradually reduced from LOD of 2.70 to 0.43 and the other increased from 1.12 to 2.45. Compared with the pattern observed for height, LOD scan profiles for diameter and volume showed less temporal change of peaks, suggesting that the genetic control for height growth is probably more unstable than that of diameter. QTLs controlling the phenotype at the time of measurement (ie the final phenotype) showed similar magnitude of effects on that trait's respective increments (or growth rate).

Background: The objective of this study was to verify the effect that plot locational errors, termed plot co-registration errors, have on the strength of regression between LiDAR canopy metrics and the measured total standing volume (TSV) of plots in a Pinus radiata forest. Methods: A 737 hectare plantation of mature Pinus radiata located in Northern Hawkes Bay was selected for the study. This forest had been measured in a pre-harvest inventory and had aerial LiDAR assessment. The location of plots was verified using a survey-grade GPS. Least square linear regression models were developed to predict TSV from LiDAR canopy metrics for a sample of 204 plots. The regression strength, accuracy and bias was compared for models developed using either the actual (verified) or the incorrect (intended) locations for these plots. The change to the LiDAR canopy metrics after the plot co-registration errors was also established. Results: The plot co-registration error in the sample ranged from 0.7 m to 70.3 m, with an average linear spatial error of 10.6 m. The plot co-registration errors substantially reduced the strength of regression between LiDAR canopy metrics and TSV, as the model developed from the actual plot locations had an R2 of 44%, while the model developed from the incorrect plot locations had an R2 of 19%. The greatest reductions in model strength occurred when there was less than a 60% overlap between the plots defined by correct and incorrect locations. Higher plot co-registration errors also caused significant changes to the height and density LiDAR canopy metrics that were used in the regression models. The lower percentile elevation LiDAR metrics were more sensitive to plot co- registration errors, compared to higher percentile metrics. Conclusion: Plot co-registration errors have a significant effect on the strength of regressions formed between TSV and LiDAR canopy metrics. This indicates that accurate measurements of plot locations are necessary to fully utilise LiDAR for inventory purposes in forests of Pinus radiata.

Monterey pine (Pinus radiata), a native tree to California and two Mexican islands, is important both ecologically and economically. Outside native stands, Monterey pines are grown for landscaping in California and on plantations around the world. Pitch canker, a disease caused by the fungus Gibberella circinata Nirenberg & O’Donnell (Fusarium circinatum Nirenberg and O'Donnell) is threatening the survival of Monterey pines. The disease currently affects Monterey pines in many parts of the world including the native stands. No effective chemical or biological control is available but some Monterey pines show resistance to the disease. The purpose of this project was to develop a working protocol for producing genetic clones of the resistant pines through micropropagation. These genetic clones will be used for outplanting in places outside the native stands for ornamental and plantation purposes. This project analyzes the results of ten trials with varied parameters and bases the final protocol on the parameters used in the trial that induces the growth of new shoots. The final protocol developed in this project describes, step-by-step, the media preparation for the initiation, plant material collection, surface sterilization of plant material, plating in media and initiation of shoots on explants. The protocol calls for collecting shoot tips with hardened buds that have not yet elongated, then washing the shoot tips in sterile water with Tween 20 for 15 minutes. The shoots tips are then surface sterilized in a 50% bleach solution for 20 minutes. The explants are broken into disks (to minimize damage to the cells) by inserting the tip of a scalpel and tilting it slightly. The initiation media shown to induce growth consists of ½ strength LePoivre basal salt mixture, 5mg/L benzylaminopurine, 3% sucrose and 0.8% agar and is adjusted to a pH of 5.7, then autoclaved for 20 minutes. The explants are inserted into solidified media and incubated in a growth chamber programmed for 16 hours of light and 8 hours of dark with temperatures of 27ºC and 22ºC and light irradiance of 80µEm-2s-1. After 1 month the protocol calls for transferring the growing shoots to elongation media with full LP basal salts and transferring every month. When the number of desired shoots has been reached the forthcoming protocol for rooting can be followed.

This study was a part of the international collaborative IMPACT project, which aims to address the potential threat that the pitch canker disease poses to the use of Pinus radiata D. Don in plantations in New Zealand, Australia, and Chile. A field trial of 264 seedstocks was planted adjacent to a native stand of pitch canker infected P. radiata on the central coast of California, and disease symptom development was recorded over a period of 3 years. The results did not correlate with a greenhouse study of the same seedstocks inoculated with Fusarium circinatum Nirenberg & O'Donnell, the causal agent of pitch canker. Three main types of symptoms were identified (branch flagging, pitchy buds, and chlorotic tips), and preliminary isolation analyses suggest that the disease observed is actually caused by Diplodia pinea (Desm.) Kickx. Survival analysis showed that the effect of tree genetic origin was significant to its time to disease, and that spatial location in the plantation was also significant. Average nearest neighbor analysis showed disease distribution to be significantly clustered, which also suggests that the disease is not pitch canker, but diplodia blight. This experiment illustrates the difficulty in performing naturally infected field trials when another similar-looking fungal disease is also present. It also provides data on seedstock resistance to diplodia blight, another fungal disease important to P. radiata forest managers.

Biomass waste has been recognised as a promising, renewable source for future transport fuels. With 1.7 million hectares of pine plantation forests and 12 million cubic meters of annual residue produced by sawmills and the pulp and paper industries, New Zealand presents a prime location where utilisation of these resources can take the next step towards creating a more environmentally friendly future. In this research, the process of fast pyrolysis was investigated using a laboratoryscale, nitrogen-blown fluidised bed pyrolyser at CRL Energy. This equipment can process 1–1.5 kg/h of woody biomass in a temperature range of 450–550°C. The purpose of this rig was to determine the impact of various processing parameters on bio-oil yields. Next, the pyrolysis liquids (bio-oil and tar) were processed downstream into bio-bitumen. Pyrolysis experiments were carried out on Pinus Radiata and Eucalyptus Nitens residue sawdust from sawmills and bark feedstock. The properties of the collected products, including pyrolysis liquids (bio-oil and tar), gas and solid bio-chars, were measured under different operational conditions. Further analysis was also performed to determine pH, volatile content, chemical composition and calorific values of the products. The ultimate goal for this project was to develop a feasible, advanced fast-pyrolysis system for a bio-bitumen production plant using various biomass feedstocks. Additionally, a design for a bio-bitumen production plant was developed, and techno-economic analysis was conducted on a number of plant production yield cases and bio-bitumen manufacture ratios.

Target diameter harvesting (TDH) is a forest management system in which all stems above a set minimum diameter are harvested on a periodic basis. There is evidence in the literature that TDH can achieve a rate of return on a similar scale to a clearfelling regime, with added benefits of regular cash flow from partial harvests, and preservation of non-timber values. Economic analysis was carried out on 12 years of TDH using permanent sample plot (PSP) data from Woodside Forest, a 30ha plantation of radiata pine (Pinus radiata). The Woodside Forest management regime has a target diameter of 60cm, and a harvest cycle of two years. Economic analysis considered the option to partial harvest or clearfell every two years, and compared the outcome of each option in terms of land expectation value (LEV). Comparisons are made between regimes with different numbers of partial harvests, assessing the effect of TDH on stand LEV. Results show that in three of four applicable stands, LEV reached a maximum at ages 30 – 32, (near the time when partial harvesting commenced), and reduced slowy with increased numbers of partial harvests. This shows there is a small opportunity cost associated with choosing TDH over a clearfell system. The effect of revenue from early partial harvesting operations on LEV was small as the majority of stand value is still in the standing crop. This limited the conclusions that can be drawn form this study due to the short time frame analyzed. The study was limited by a small dataset which did not accurately represent average stand values. Because of this, no attempt to quantify the value of the opportunity costs was made. Despite this, the results support the notion that TDH can achieve economic returns similar to clearfelling in radiata pine forests.

Radiata pine (Pinus radiata) is the most important plantation tree in New Zealand forestry, and factors that reduce the quality of wood cause significant economic loss. Two of the most important of these issues are compression wood and spiral grain. Compression wood is a type of reaction wood, formed when a tree moves away from the vertical, and is characterised by biochemical and structural changes within the wood that reduce its quality and value. Spiral grain, however, is the alignment of the wood grain in a helix around the tree’s axis and away from the vertical. Again, this reduces the structural qualities of the wood and thus its value. Spiral grain and compression wood are notorious for their deleterious effect on the quality of wood produced and are very important for the forest industry due to the huge economic loss they cause. The demand for reliable tools to evaluate these wood quality issues in clonal planting material at an early stage, within 3 years of germination rather than at 8 to 15 years as in current practise, is of ever increasing importance from plant breeders and other industry stake holders. Therefore this research was undertaken with an overall aim to develop quick, easy and reproducible techniques to evaluate young radiata pine clones (up to 3 years old) based on compression wood content and presence of spiral grain. This is important because a shortened breeding cycle could provide significant economic benefits to the forest industry. The incidence of these commercially important wood quality parameters has been studied in this thesis in research conducted on young trees (1 to 3 years old). The research described in this thesis used a variety of different imaging approaches to investigate wood structure, including polarised light and confocal microscopy, and X-ray tomography and circular polarised light scanning. The images achieved have been analysed using a range of different software, including Photoshop, ImageJ and Matlab bringing a quantification approach to the imaging. Compression wood was quantified in young clonal material using images collected with a commercial document scanner, and processed using image analysis tools available in Photoshop. An easy, reliable and robust, automatic image analysis protocol was successfully developed and tested for the detection and quantification of compression wood in these young trees. This new technique to detect and quantify compression wood was based on the thresholding of the blue channel of the scanned RGB image as this was demonstrated to contain the greatest image contrast. Development of this new technique may reduce the waiting time for screening clonal planting materials based on compression wood content. To understand the organisation of the grain at a cellular level within these young trees, confocal microscopy techniques were utilised. The cell wall characteristics and fluorescence properties of compression wood in comparison with normal wood were investigated using a new cellulose specific dye, pontamine fast scarlet 4B. Staining protocols for this dye for confocal microscopy were optimised, and the potential of measuring the microfibril angle of the S1 and S3 layers of the pontamine treated opposite wood was demonstrated through either direct observations of these layers, or through the property of bifluorescence where the dye is excited only when aligned parallel to the polarisation of the incident light. Despite extensive work with confocal microscopy, this technique proved to be unsuitable for investigations of spiral grain because although it provided cellular detail, imaging was limited to the surface layers of sections, and the area over which observations were required was prohibitive. Instead of confocal microscopy, the incidence of spiral grain in young stems was investigated in two completely new ways. Resin canals, which are formed from the same cambial initials as the tracheids and which align with the grain, were used as a proxy to demonstrate the grain changes. A novel technique, using circular polarised light and a professional flatbed scanner, was developed to image whole serial transverse sections of the young stems to detect the resin canals. Using ImageJ, the number and location of resin canals was measured on vertical controls, and trees that had been rocked and leaned. The number and frequency of resin canals were less in tilted trees, especially in compression wood, compared to the higher number of canals formed in the rocked trees. More importantly, a combination of serial sectioning and this approach allowed a 3-dimensional view of the orientation of resin canals inside a stem to be generated with ImageJ, and the angles of these canals could be measured using Matlab. The resin canals were oriented with a left-handed spiralling near the stem surface whereas the canals near to the pith were nearly straight, consistent with previous observations of the development of spiral grain in radiata pine. However, it was observed that while vertical trees had a symmetric pattern of grain and grain changes around the stem, this was not the case in tilted trees. In these, the opposite wood often had severe spiral grain visible through formation of twist whereas the compression wood formed on the lower side had bending. Consistent with this, grain associated with compression wood was significantly straighter than in opposite wood. This hitherto unknown link between the incidence of compression wood and spiral grain was investigated and explained on the basis of the characteristics of resin canals in these types of wood. X-ray micro-tomography was also used to investigate resin canals in the stubs from which serial sections were collected. The 3D reconstructions of the resin canals showed exactly the same patterns as observed by polarised light scanning.

During this study two models were developed to predict growth of Pinus radiata D.Don plantations in Canterbury, New Zealand. The first, CanSPBL(1.2), is a model for whole rotations of stands owned by Selwyn Plantation Limited in Canterbury. The second model, CanSPBL(water) is a hybrid growth model for the Selwyn estate in Canterbury that incorporates an index of root zone water balance over the simulation period. An existing stand growth and yield model CanSPBL was examined using a validation dataset of PSP measurements that were not used in model fitting. Projection bias was shown for mean top height, basal area per hectare, and residual stand stocking particularly for stands at elevations exceeding 450 metres. The new model, CanSPBL(1.2) showed an increase in precision of 4 - 46% over CanSPBL(1.0) at a stand level. The components of the stand model include mean top height, basal area per hectare, stems per hectare, and diameter distribution. The mortality model was made in conjunction with managers at CanSPBL to exclude catastrophic mortality events from model projections. Data used for model fitting was filtered using a mortality index based on the -3/2 power law. An examination of this model with an independent dataset showed little apparent bias. The new model, CanSPBL(water) was developed to include an index of water balance over the simulation period. Water balance estimates were made using a sub model for root zone water balance included in the hybrid physiological model 3-PG (Landsberg and Waring, 1997). The new model showed an increase in precision of 1 - 4% over CanSPBL(1.2) at a stand level (with the exception of the model for maximum diameter which showed a decrease in precision of 0.78%) using climatic inputs that included yearly variation. However the model showed increases of precision from 0.5 to 8% (with the exception of maximum diameter again, showing a decrease in precision of 0.13%) using long term monthly average climatic inputs. The components of the stand model also include mean top height, basal area per hectare, stems per hectare, and diameter distribution. The mortality model was also fitted with a data set filtered using a mortality severity index based on the -3/2 power law to exclude catastrophic mortality events. An examination of this model with an independent dataset showed little apparent bias. Two models to predict a one sided canopy leaf area index (LAI) of radiata pine stands in the Canterbury Plains of New Zealand were also developed. The models were fitted using non-linear least squares regression of LAI estimates against stem measurements and stand characteristics. LAI estimates were derived from digital analysis of fisheye lens photography. The models were kept simple to avoid computational circularity for physiological modelling applications. This study included an objective comparison and validation of a range of model types. The models CANTY (Goulding, 1995), CanSPBL(1.2) (Pinjuv, 2005), CanSPBL-water (Pinjuv, 2005), and 3-PG (Landsberg and Waring, 1997) were compared and validated with the main criteria for comparison being each model s ability to match actual historical measurements of forest growth in an independent data set. Overall, the models CanSPBL(water), and CanSPBL(1.2) performed the best in terms of basal area and mean top height prediction. Both models CanSPBL(water), and CanSPBL(1.2) showed a slightly worse fit in predictions of stocking than did the model CANTY. The hybrid model 3PG showed a better fit for the prediction of basal area than the statistically based model CANTY, but showed a worse fit for the prediction of final stocking than all other models. In terms of distribution of residuals, CanSPBL(1.2) had overall the lowest skewness, kurtosis, and all model parameters tested significant for normality. 3PG performed the worst on average, in terms of the distribution of residuals, and all models tested positively for the normality of residual distribution.