Forest Fires in Relation to Soil Fertility

Abstract

WHEN the early colonists arrived in New Zealand, the greater part of the present cultivated land of the North Island and much of that of the South Island were covered with dense forests, which have since been removed by burning, the general practice being to remove millable timber, fell the remainder, burn out as completely as possible and sow with grass. Much of the forest was, however, burned without felling, sometimes by accident but often intentionally.