“basal area means the cross-sectional area of the stem of a tree measured over bark at a point that is 1.4 metres from ground level on the uphill side of the tree and expressed in square metres

“predominant forest species, in relation to an area of forest land, means the particular forest species with the greatest total basal area”.

“regenerate means the commencement of growth of seedlings that are present as a result of a process other than planting”.

“5 Rounding rules

• “(1) If a participant is required under these regulations to collect information or calculate emissions or removals in relation to an area in hectares, the area must include any fraction of a hectare rounded to 1 decimal place by—

  • “(a) expressing the area as a decimal number truncated to 2 decimal places; and

  • “(b) if the number in the second decimal place—

    • “(i) is 5 or more, increasing the number in the first decimal place by 1; or

    • “(ii) is less than 5, leaving the number in the first decimal place unchanged.

  “(2) For the purposes of calculating—

  • “(a) total emissions for deforestation of pre-1990 forest land under regulation 15, the total emissions in tonnes of carbon dioxide must be rounded to the nearest whole tonne; or

  • “(b) emissions or removals from a carbon accounting area under regulation 20(1), the emissions or removals must be rounded to the nearest whole tonne of carbon dioxide.

  “(3) If the emissions or removals in tonnes of carbon dioxide consist of a whole number and half a tonne, the tonnage must be rounded up to the nearest whole tonne.”

• “(f) if a hectare of forest land contains trees of mixed ages, the age of the trees is to be calculated as a weighted average by—

  • “(i) determining—

    • “(A) the total basal area of all the trees; and

    • “(B) the total basal area of the trees of each age group; and

    • “(C) the fraction of the total basal area of each age group with respect to the total basal area of all the trees (by dividing the value obtained under subsubparagraph (B) by the value obtained under subsubparagraph (A)); and

  • “(ii) for the trees of each age group, multiplying the age of the age group by the value obtained in subparagraph (i)(C); and

  • “(iii) adding together the results for all the age groups:

    Example

    A participant has a hectare of intermingled Pinus radiata of 2 ages: 30-year-old trees and 15-year-old trees. The 30-year-old trees comprise 70% of the total basal area and the 15-year-old trees comprise 30% of the total basal area. The age of the trees is their basal area-weighted average age of 25.5 years ((30 years x 0.7) + (15 years x 0.3) = 25.5 years), which is rounded to 26 years.

• “(h) if a hectare of forest land contains trees of both mixed species and mixed ages, the average age of the trees in that hectare—

  • “(i) is that of the predominant forest species; and

  • “(ii) is determined in the manner specified in paragraph (f) by using values of the basal area for the predominant forest species only.”

• “(b) if a tree that is an exotic species regenerates on land from which a forest species has been cleared, and the regeneration occurs in the same calendar year as the clearing, the tree is to be treated for the purposes of paragraph (a) as having regenerated in the year following the year in which the forest species was cleared:

  Example

  An area of post-1989 forest land contains regenerating Pinus radiata. The Pinus radiata was last felled in 2008. For the purposes of determining the age of the trees under paragraph (a), the current Pinus radiata is treated as having regenerated in 2009.

• “(f) if a hectare of forest land contains trees of mixed ages and paragraph (fa) does not apply, the age of the trees is to be calculated as a weighted average by—

  • “(i) determining—

    • “(A) the total basal area of all the trees; and

    • “(B) the total basal area of the trees of each age group; and

    • “(C) the fraction of the total basal area of each age group with respect to the total basal area of all the trees (by dividing the value obtained under subsubparagraph (B) by the value obtained under subsubparagraph (A)); and

  • “(ii) for the trees of each age group, multiplying the age of the age group by the value obtained in subparagraph (i)(C); and

  • “(iii) adding together the results for all the age groups:

    Example

    A participant has a hectare of intermingled Pinus radiata of 2 ages: 30-year-old trees and 15-year-old trees. The 30-year-old trees comprise 70% of the total basal area and the 15-year-old trees comprise 30% of the total basal area. The age of the trees is their basal area-weighted average age of 25.5 years ((30 years x 0.7) + (15 years x 0.3) = 25.5 years), which is rounded to 26 years.

• “(fa) if a hectare of forest land contains regenerating indigenous forest species of mixed ages as the predominant forest species, the age of all of the trees in that hectare is calculated from the time since regeneration of the first of the indigenous forest species in that hectare began:”.

• “(i) if a hectare of forest land contains trees of both mixed species and mixed ages, the average age of the trees in that hectare—

  • “(i) is that of the predominant forest species; and

  • “(ii) is determined—

    • “(A) in the manner specified in paragraph (f) by using values of the basal area for the predominant forest species only; or

    • “(B) in the case of regenerating indigenous forest, in accordance with paragraph (fa).”

“Tree weed exemptions

“23 Designation of certain trees as tree weeds

• For the purposes of section 184(9)(b) of the Act, the trees listed in Schedule 7 are tree weeds.

“24 Applications for declarations of exempt land

• An application under section 184(3) of the Act for a declaration that pre-1990 forest land specified in the application is exempt land must be accompanied by the following information, in addition to the information required by section 184(4) of the Act:

  • “(a) the name and contact details of the applicant; and

  • “(b) documentation to establish the legal interest of the applicant in the pre-1990 forest land, including,—

    • “(i) if the applicant is the landowner,—

      • “(A) a copy of the computer freehold register for the pre-1990 forest land; or

      • “(B) if there is no computer freehold register for the pre-1990 forest land, documentation that gives evidence of the applicant's interest in that land, such as the relevant Maori Land Court records; or

    • “(ii) if the applicant is a third party for the purpose of section 180 of the Act, further documentation to verify the applicant's status as an eligible third party; and

  • “(c) the name and contact details of a person who is able to grant access to the pre-1990 forest land for the purpose of determining any matter relevant to the application; and

  • “(d) a declaration that, in relation to the pre-1990 forest land, the applicant—

    • “(i) has not applied for, or been granted, an allocation of units under section 77 of the Act; and

    • “(ii) has not applied for, or been granted, a declaration that the pre-1990 forest land is exempt land under section 183 of the Act; and

  • “(e) a declaration that all the information provided with the application is true and accurate to the best of the applicant's knowledge and belief.

“25 Further information required in relation to application

• “(1) An application made under section 184(3) of the Act must, in relation to the pre-1990 forest land specified in the application, include the following information:

  • “(a) the tree weed species to which the application relates; and

  • “(b) the legal description of the pre-1990 forest land where the applicant proposes to undertake deforestation of tree weeds; and

  • “(c) the total area in hectares of the pre-1990 forest land for which the applicant seeks a declaration that the land is exempt land; and

  • “(d) the geospatial mapping information about the pre-1990 forest land; and

  • “(e) any relevant characteristics in relation to the risk of seed dispersal, including (but not limited to)—

    • “(i) the topography and slope of the pre-1990 forest land:

    • “(ii) the direction of the prevailing wind and the exposure of the pre-1990 forest land to wind:

    • “(iii) the use of any other land within 2 kilometres of the boundary of the pre-1990 forest land specified in the application.

  “(2) An applicant may include any other relevant information that the applicant considers ought to be taken into account in determining the application.

“26 Information required in relation to land under statutory protection or control

• “(1) This regulation applies if any part of the pre-1990 forest land specified in the application is within an area for which there is—

  • “(a) a pest management strategy, as defined in section 2(1) of the Biosecurity Act 1993; or

  • “(b) a plan, policy, standard, or other document relating to the management of tree weeds prepared under any other enactment.

  “(2) The application must include the name of the strategy, plan, policy, standard, or other document referred to in subclause (1).

“27 Information required in relation to land within or near legally protected area

• “(1) This regulation applies if an applicant knows that any part of the pre-1990 forest land specified in the application—

  • “(a) is within a protected area; or

  • “(b) is within 2 kilometres of a protected area.

  “(2) The application must include the name of the protected area and the statutory basis for its protection.

  “(3) In this section, protected area means an area where the natural, cultural, or historic values of the area are protected under an enactment.

“28 Other documentation to be included with application

• If a notice of any kind has been issued, or any other action taken, under any enactment against the applicant or any other person to require clearance of tree weeds on the pre-1990 forest land specified in the application, a copy of the notice or other documentation must be included with the application.”