Day 058 - 30 Nov 94 - Page 25
1 Q. I understand that. I just wanted to know when you say
2 "restocked", I do not know if that was the same as
3 "replanting"?
4 A. Yes, replanting.
5
6 Q. It is roughly the same?
7 A. And in order to find such a figure, I asked those who
8 are responsible for the control of pesticides, a government
9 body, what they thought to be proportion. This is the
10 figure that I was given. That is why I have used it.
11
12 Q. So the 11,000 to 12,000 hectares would be again about a
13 third of the area that is being replanted?
14 A. Correct.
15
16 MR. JUSTICE BELL: And these are only forests as you defined it
17 the day before yesterday, not small woodlands?
18 A. Oh, yes, the amount of treatment applying in small
19 woodlands would be very, very small indeed, and relating
20 all this, of course, one has to remember that this is done
21 but once in the cycle and it is not an annual treatment as
22 applies in agriculture.
23
24 MR. MORRIS: No, but in any particular part of a forest that is
25 being restocked or replanted, roughly one in three of those
26 total areas in the country will be treated with
27 insecticides?
28 A. Yes.
29
30 Q. As a general sort of summary?
31 A. Yes. I give you there a proportion as applied to the
32 total amount of pesticides or insecticides which are used
33 in the country, and you can see that the 30,000 kilograms
34 compares with the 22 million kilograms that are used in all
35 sorts of other applications unrelated to forestry.
36
37 Q. Right, but that may be a criticism of other agricultural
38 practices?
39 A. It could well be.
40
41 Q. If we move over the page, the use of fertilizers. We have
42 not got figures for the fertilizers, have we?
43 A. No, but I think one could say without much hesitation
44 that the proportions in relation to agriculture are tiny
45 because agriculture applies fertilizer on a regular basis
46 and forestry has no need to do it except in very rare
47 conditions indeed.
48
49 Q. Not all agriculture uses fertilizer?
50 A. No.
51
52 Q. Organic agriculture does not, or herbicides or
53 insecticides?
54 A. No, of course not.
55
56 Q. So when you say in your first paragraph: "The practice of
57 leaving the brash, or small limbs of coniferous trees on
58 clear felled areas contributes to the nutrient supply for
59 the young seedlings", nutrient supplies is very important
60 for soil quality, yes, and quantities, in fact?
