The good news is that forests often provide many benefits beyond your main objective. For example, trees planted primarily to reduce erosion can also improve water quality, support biodiversity, store carbon, and enhance the landscape.
Start with a specific goal. You might want to harvest timber, stop a slipping hillside, earn carbon credits, provide shelter for stock, or bring back native wildlife.
This page explores the many benefits trees and forests can provide.
Forests and trees provide important habitat for wildlife. Native and exotic forests both contribute to New Zealand's biodiversity by providing wildlife with food, shelter, and places to breed. Even small areas of forest can help connect habitats across the landscape.
Native forests support many species found nowhere else in the world and play an important role in restoring natural ecosystems. Exotic forests can also provide valuable habitat for native wildlife, including rare and threatened species such as kiwi, kārearea (New Zealand falcon), and pekapeka (native bats). Different forest types often support different species and can complement one another across the landscape.
As trees grow, they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in their wood, roots, and soil.
Native plants have adapted over centuries to fit local soils and climates. If a distinct plant species disappears from a local valley, it may never return on its own. Planting trees suited to your region protects local genetic lines and keeps your area's natural heritage alive.
If you have existing bush on your property you want to protect, you may want to covenant it. Contact your regional council to find out what options there are for you. In some cases, you may be able to have your forest covenanted under the QEII Trust. Check out the QEII website to find your regional advisor.
Planting trees on hillsides and along waterways stabilises vulnerable ground, manages flood flows, and keeps freshwater clean.
Trees reduce erosion by binding soil with their roots to improve land stability. They also create a canopy to intercept rain and allow it to reach the soil more slowly. Trees provide additional organic matter, so soils are more likely to retain moisture and reduce flood flows.
Riparian margins are the strips of land alongside streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands. Planting these zones creates a natural buffer between productive land and waterways.
Trees can provide strong economic returns for many types of properties, including farms. Planting trees can create new income streams, increase property value, and strengthen farming operations.
Trees can provide income from:
If your land qualifies, you can earn carbon credits through the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), providing an ongoing return as the trees grow.
For more information on how the ETS might apply to your property, contact forestserviceadvice@mpi.govt.nz
Trees play a vital role in farm management and animal welfare. They provide livestock with shade and shelter, which help increase their comfort and sense of safety.
For farms, trees improve the retention of productive soil, so more of your soil can be used for planting and harvesting. They also keep that soil out of the waterways. Trees also soften the landscape, enhance the natural beauty of the property, and build a lasting sense of pride and value in the land.
Community planting brings people together to care for the local environment and build spaces everyone can enjoy. Trees make towns and cities healthier places to live. They produce oxygen, absorb air pollution, and create beautiful green spaces.
Integrating native trees into the landscape supports cultural traditions, protects heritage, and provides resources.
Trees act as natural shields across neighbourhoods, sports fields, and parks by:
Trees can also be planted as living memorials of celebration, or to honour those who came before us. Planting as a community strengthens bonds and creates a sense of shared pride.