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    The effect of an integrated catchment management plan on the greenhouse gas balance of the Mangaotama catchment of the Whatawhata Hill Country Research Station : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Ecology at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2012) Smiley, Daniel
    An integrated catchment management plan implemented in the Mangaotama catchment of the Whatawhata Research Station in 2001 demonstrated that Pinus radiata forestry on marginal land, along with conservation measures and intensification could produce a win-win outcome for economic output and the environment. However, greenhouse gas mitigation was never fully considered. This research investigated the effect of the plan on the land’s greenhouse gas balance and carbon stocks between 2000 and 2011. Historical records, modelling with OVERSEER and CenW, literature values and field measurements were used to account for CO2, CH4, and N2O from the four main land-use types: pasture, native forest, pine, and native plantings. The original land-use would have emitted a net 10.99 Gg CO2e over 10yrs, whereas the new land-use sequestered a net 47.26 Gg CO2e in its first 10yrs. The total carbon stocks rose by 15.9 Gg C. Forestry conversion of almost half the area explained most of this effect. Agricultural intensification increased per hectare emissions from pasture, but overall pasture emissions were lowered by over half due to the reduction in livestock numbers. The native plantings had a small impact due to the small area planted and their slower growth compared with pines. Soil carbon was lost under all land-uses, except possibly in grazed native forests, but these conclusions were hampered by a scarcity of samples. Uncertainty also surrounded the modelling of the pine forest in complex terrain, which is not yet adequately captured in CenW. A preliminary look at carbon trading suggested that it could strongly undermine the viability of the original farm system, but it could also help to fund the expensive transition to the new land-use. Overall, it was found that in addition to the benefits already shown by the integrated catchment management plan, it was also an effective way of mitigating climate change.
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    Popular participation in rural development : the New Zealand/Solomon Islands customary land reforestation project on Malaita : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Philosophy, Department of Sociology, Massey University
    (Massey University, 1991) Clark, Kevin; Clark, Kevin
    This study explores the concept of popular participation in rural development with particular reference to the forestry sector and its role in poverty alleviation. It starts with the premise that popular participation is necessary to address poverty issues and that popular participation can be promoted through aid projects funded by bilateral aid donors and implemented through government bureaucracies. The case study of an aid-funded social forestry project in Solomon Islands highlights impediments to aid agency promotion of popular participation: different objectives from local people, a blueprint approach to project management, and lack of experience in community development, and identifies some of the difficulties of working with Third World bureaucracies: a top down approach to development, limited resources, inexperience, and a weak infrastructure. Nevertheless, it concludes that a participatory approach to project planning and implementation is possible.
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    Land treatment of dairy-farm effluent using short rotation forestry : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1999) Roygard, Jonathan K. F.
    Under the Resource Management Act (1991) New Zealand dairy farmers are required to dispose of dairy-farm effluent in such a manner as to have no adverse effect on the receiving environment. This study investigated the land treatment of pond treated effluent to short rotation forestry (SRF). The study involved both field trials and modelling work to assess sustainability of these systems in terms of nitrogen leaching to groundwater. A lysimeter study investigated 3 SRF species, 2 evergreen species of Eucalypts (Eucalyptus saligna, E. nitens) and a deciduous willow (Salix kinuyanagi) in the treatment of dairy farm effluent. Trees were grown in lysimeters (1.8 m diameter, 1.0 m depth) to enable measurement of water and nitrogen balances. A bare-soil treatment was used as a control. The application of dairy-farm oxidation-pond effluent totaled 218 g N lysimeter-1 (equivalent to 872 kg N ha-1) over 2 irrigation seasons (December 1995-June 1996 and September 1996-April 1997). Effluent was applied weekly during the irrigation seasons at a rate of 21 mm week-1. No effluent was applied during the winter period. The drainage period of the E. nitens was shorter than that of the S. kinuyanagi, and rates of leaching were respectively lower. Both these treatments leached for shorter periods than E. saligna. Leaching of the bare-soil treatment was consistently high throughout the experiment. Water use through evapotranspiration was found to have a large impact on drainage volume and timing. The trees were shown to improve effluent treatment because high evapotranspiration rates reduced the volume of leachate passing beyond the root zone. Further, uptake of nitrogen by the trees reduced the quantities of nitrogen available for leaching. In this study both E. nitens and S. kinuyanagi were more suitable for land treatment than the other 2 treatments evaluated. The low nitrogen concentration in the leachate under the S. kinuyanagi is the key criterion which determines the suitability of this tree species for land treatment of effluent. The low total loading of nitrogen to the groundwater of the E. nitens treatments is the key criterion in determining E. nitens suitability. Although the nitrogen concentrations in the leachate of the tree treatments were generally less than the bare soil treatments, they were still greater than the New Zealand drinking water standard (NZDWS) of 11.3 mg NO3- -N, during certain periods of the experiment. From the lysimeter experiment it was concluded that the leachate nitrogen concentrations might have been reduced if the amount of nitrogen applied in the effluent was reduced. Total production of above-ground biomass in the 2.5 years, based on the stocking rate of 4000 stems ha-1 was equivalent to 15.6, 30.6, and 21.3 Mg ha-1 yr-1 for E. saligna, E. nitens, and S. kinuyanagi respectively. Although scaling up biomass estimates from small plot trials and particularly lysimeters introduces associated errors, the estimates fell within the ranges measured elsewhere in New Zealand. The lysimeter study was complemented by the modelling of the water and nitrogen balances of SRF land treatment systems. Ultimately, the aim of the model was to investigate the effect of changes in management practices on sustainability in terms of nitrogen leaching of SRF systems treating dairy-shed effluent. The model selected for this purpose was a lumped parameter model (LPM). The water and nitrogen balances of the bare soil and E. nitens treatments were simulated with the model to determine the applicability of an LPM scheme to predict system behaviour. The model predicted, with broad agreement, the measured water and nitrogen balances of the lysimeter experiment. The model was then used to simulate the behaviour of a SRF plantation receiving dairy-shed effluent at a rate of 200 kg N ha-1 yr-1 over 27 years. This simulation predicted the occurrence of high nitrate concentrations in the leachate. This would be a limiting factor for the long term sustainability of such a system. A sensitivity analysis of the model was used to reveal the important parameters of water movement and nitrogen cycling that effect both nitrogen concentration and quantity in the leachate moving below the root zone. Water movement was most sensitive to root zone depth, effective rainfall, available water and crop water use. The nitrogen fate parameters with greatest effect on leachate nitrogen concentration and quantity were denitrification activity and volatilisation. Plant growth parameters of light utilisation efficiency, maximum leaf nitrogen concentration and specific leaf area strongly effected leachate nitrogen concentration and quantity. Mineralisation rates of the soil humus and the senescence rates of plant material also impacted on quantity and concentration of nitrogen leaching. The model's applicability as a decision support tool was demonstrated by examining the impact of various effluent loading rates on the leachate concentration and quantity. Based on leachate nitrate concentrations being on average lower than the NZDWS, the key finding was that the sustainable loading rate for the simulated system was found to be around 75 kg N ha-1 yr-1. The major finding of both the lysimeter experiment and the modelling study was the high nitrogen concentrations leaching from SRF dairy-shed effluent treatment systems. The LPM model clearly provides a platform from which to investigate many other possible scenarios of management to minimise the leaching of the high concentrations of nitrogen into the ground water.
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    Institutional factors that influence access of the poor to forest benefits : case studies of community and leasehold forestry regimes in Nepal : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Rural Development, Massey University, Institute of Natural Resources, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2008) Bajracharya, Bijaya
    The community and leasehold forestry regimes (CF and LF regimes) are high priority programmes that are designed by the Nepalese government to conserve forests and reduce poverty through the introduction of formal institutions in terms of legal property rights and governance structures and processes. However, little is known about the mechanisms through which informal and formal institutions influence resource access of the poor under these regimes. By employing a collective case study approach, this research provides some understanding of the mechanisms through which formal and informal institutional factors influence access of the poor to forest resources governed under the CF and LF regimes in Nepal. This study found that informal institutional factors significantly influence the impact of formal institutions irrespective of the regime that was imposed on the Nepalese hill communities. It was revealed that where more than one social group co-exist in a community, discriminatory sociocultural norms (for example patriarchal and caste-based norms), and customary property rights favour one social group over others. As a result, certain social groups have greater access to resources and benefits from the resources than do other social groups. Of particular significance, and not previously reported, the lack of prior experience in collective action of the low castes along with their weak social networks and poor leadership ability is highlighted as being directly linked to their relatively limited access to forest resources. When the Bista system, a specific type of a traditional bridging social network is eroded, the low castes end up with less access due to removal of support from the high castes. This study shows that a more inclusive regime (for example CF regime) is likely to lead to more effective outcomes for the livelihood of the poor as compared to a more exclusive regime (e.g. LF regime). When the powerful are included in the forest user group (FUG), along with the poor, there is less resistance to the shift in property rights and the improved access of the poor to forest benefits that the regimes are intended to achieve. However, it was found that active participation is more determinant of resource access than is a specified set of property rights granted by right of membership in a FUG. Although some FUG governance structures provide a forum where the disadvantaged members of the FUGs have the right to participate in decision making, their participation is constrained by discriminatory sociocultural norms. Further, this study revealed that the decision-making processes dominated by the elites tend to address the needs of the disadvantaged members to only a very limited extent. However, improving capacities has the potential to enhance participation of disadvantaged members in the processes. The research findings suggest that informal institutions must explicitly be considered in the design and implementation of CBNRM regimes in order for them to be successful in improving livelihoods of the poor. The implementing staff need support mechanisms for changing their own attitudes and behaviours to those that are more favourable to the social shift that the regimes are intended to bring about. CBNRM regimes have the potential to improve the livelihoods of the poor, but research must continue on how this can be achieved.