ABSTRACT
New Zealand is in the South Pacific to the east of Australia. Discursive analysis approaches text as the site of social actions. In 2011 New Zealand had 2,090,000 hectares of exotic tree plantations and 8,063,000 hectares of indigenous forest ecosystems. In 1988 the New Zealand Institute of Foresters changed its name to the New Zealand Institute of Forestry. The increase in the use of the word crop occurs at a time when pine production is growing rapidly in New Zealand, but before the emergence of growing concern for ecological considerations in forest management. The use of words related to forest ecosystem values such as climate, biodiversity and sustainability all increase towards the end of the period, reflecting the rise of social demands for these values in forests. While some foresters worked to establish sustainable systems for New Zealand’s natural forests, others were working to set up a new wood cultivation regime.
