IKEA set to buy up more land in NZ

[harm_less]

I wonder if they plan on using the timber to make their products from or just as investment?
Pines are the worst thing we could grow in this country, they are an invasive pest.
Australian gum trees grow just as fast and have extremely hard wood. Would be a far better building product.

Careful what you wish for there CT. Eucalyptus have been described as 'The Largest Weed'. They are extremely flammable and toxify the ground in their vicinity to a greater degree than even pines do. Their toxicity also means that very few organisms can eat them, except of course koalas.

Grown in NZ conditions their root systems are meagre due to the abundance of fertility here compared to their native habitat which makes them prone to blowover in strong winds, and they also shed large limbs often without warning. They were planted in large quantities here in the period around WW2 as eucalyptus was seen to be the durable timber of the future, compared to the much less durable pinus radiata, but the CCA 'tanalising' process saw those plantings become historic groves representing the change in timber technology. The timber is also more difficult to mill than the straighter grained pine and twisting and warping of the resulting lumber is problematic.

Current plantings of eucalyptus are primarily for paper manufacture but the processing of this resinous and toxic wood presents added environmental impacts.

Essential exchanging pines for gums is very much a frying pan to fire scenario.