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The One Billion Trees Fund is backing research to find cheaper and more effective ways to plant native forests.
The Ngā Kākano Whakahau seeding trial is one of three new partnerships under the fund.
The QEII National Trust has brought together expertise from University of Otago, Taege Engineering and Department of Conservation to develop a system of using machines to plant seeds from native tree species over 12 hectares of Otago and Canterbury.
The aim is to create a more effective planting method that will increase the success rate of planting native forests at scale.
As well as planting the seeds, scientists are trialling several techniques to re-introduce the native mycorrhizal fungi upon which many native species depend.
The fund will cover half the $1.6 million cost.
It's also funding the Hawkes Bay Right Tree, Right Place study to identify commercial and non-commercial forestry activities that provide benefits to the community, and putting $100,000 towards the New Zealand Plant Producers Industry national native nursery strategy, which is an attempt to address the capability of native tree nurseries and support of seedling production as the One Billion Trees programme ramps up.
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