WHAT IS PRUNED STAND CERTIFICATION (PSC)

PSC is a service that was designed and developed by Forest Research in 1991 (then called FRI). It very simple sought to provide a facility for the small through to medium sizes forest owner to credibly measure the effectiveness of pruning and make this information available for price determination when the stand or pruned logs were sold.

PSC has the following key elements:

1. Defined minimum standards for quality of pruning, stand assessment, and stand mapping.
2. An audit process undertaken by a nationwide network of registered auditors, and an additional level of auditing implemented on a random basis by the administrator.
3. An information archive which includes, audit details, all field measurements, stand maps, assessment plot locations and data summaries. All information is stored in a database supplemented with hardcopy. All information can be retrieved.
4. Unique certificate showing important stand measures of quality supported by permanent comprehensive archived records.

WHAT DOES ALL THIS TRANSLATE INTO

• It clearly establishes that the stand exists and summarises its main features: date planted, species, area, location supported with a location map, scale and compass reference, and the stand outline.
• A certificate establishes that a pruning operation of a professional standard has taken place (certification does not proceed unless pruning standards are met).
• PSC provides a measure of the effectiveness of pruning. This measure can be used to determine stand or log value at time of property sale, stand sale or log sale as well as determining valuation for financial purposes at any point in the rotation.
• PSC has an international profile. It has been adopted in Australia and is being viewed with interest by other countries. The final goal is to have an internationally recognised certification process for pruned log price setting.
• The stand information collected for PSC along with the latest stand modeling technologies will provide accurate yield and log quality forecasts through the rotation, and
• being part of a nationwide program with known yields, log qualities, stand age and location presents the opportunity to supply domestic and international markets of any size as part of an organised collective with the sort of market clout enjoyed by the corporates.

WHAT IS MEASURED

Besides the stand tenure information and a location map, the PSC certificate reports some simple stand parameters; stocking, the pruning lift height, the mean maximum diameter over pruned branch stubs (DOS), and a measure of precision. The stand data are obtained from sample trees. Where plot assessment work is already undertaken, this information is usually used if it meets the standards criteria. Measurement methods are described in the Pruned Stand Certification manual, FRI Bulletin 167.

WHO IS USING PSC AND WHAT IS THE QUALITY OF THEIR STANDS

Even without the anticipated increase in PSC usage, there will be between a quarter and a half million hectares of pruned stands in the PSC programme within one rotation. This represents a huge resource for which, ownership, location, age, pruned log quality, and likely yield at harvest of all log types, are known. The success of PSC testifies to a willingness by individual growers, investors and managers to cooperate in a national programme. If this willingness continues into marketing, the scale of the programme will make it New Zealand's newest 'forestry corporate'. With the company based corporates focusing less and less on pruning.

HOW MUCH DOES PSC COST

The pruning investment itself is large. If you already have a good stand assessment system in place then PSC will cost very little. A registered auditor will need to have either carried out the stand assessment or visited your stand and checked around 25% of the measurements. The cost of the auditors work is a matter for negotiation between you and the auditor. You can reduce this cost by carrying out the assessment yourself prior to the auditors visit or at the very least have a 'rates' demand notice on hand to show the land tenure details and a map with your property outline, the stand out-line, north indicated and either the map scale or an indication of area for any section on the map. Management and Technology Systems Ltd (MTS) administer the PSC program on behalf of Forest Research. MTS charges $130 (plus GST) for each stands first certificate and entry into the program (usually time of first lift) and thereafter the cost reduces to $100 (plus GST) for subsequent lifts (costs correct at 1st January 2000).