Oral Submission Presentation by Blake Foster - New Zealand ...

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REPORT TITLE AUTHORS CLIENT CLIENT CONTRACT NO: FRST CONTRACT NO: SIDNEY OUTPUT NUMBER SIGNED OFF BY DATE CONFIDENTIALITY REQUIREMENT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REPORT INFORMATION SHEET WILDING PINE MANAGEMENT ON PUKAKI DOWNS NICK LEDGARD, SCION PUKAKI TOURISM HOLDINGS LTD QUIKTRAK NUMBER QT-1372 NONE MAY 18, 2010 CONFIDENTIAL (FOR CLIENT USE ONLY) MICHAEL WATT, PROJECT LEADER, WEEDS © NEW ZEALAND FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE LIMITED ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. UNLESS PERMITTED BY CONTRACT OR LAW, NO PART OF THIS WORK MAY BE REPRODUCED, STORED OR COPIED IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY MEANS WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF THE NEW ZEALAND FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE LIMITED (TRADING AS SCION). Disclaimer The information and opinions provided in the Report have been prepared for the Client and its specified purposes. Accordingly, any person other than the Client uses the information and opinions in this report entirely at its own risk. The Report has been provided in good faith and on the basis that reasonable endeavours have been made to be accurate and not misleading and to exercise reasonable care, skill and judgment in providing such information and opinions. Neither Scion, nor any of its employees, officers, contractors, agents or other persons acting on its behalf or under its control accepts any responsibility or liability in respect of any information or opinions provided in this Report.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The problem Wilding conifers have been invading Pukaki Downs station since the early 1960s . Initially, invasion was restricted to a short section of the lakeshore by the Homestead, but more extensive invasion started to take hold in the late 1980s / early 1990s. The main spreading species is Lodgepole or contorta pine (Pinus contorta), the country’s most vigorous spreading conifer. At the present time, wildings are approaching canopy closure over approximately 30-40% of the station, with much of the remaining area affected by widely scattered outlier trees (often accompanied by patches of fringe spread). If left unmanaged, wildings would dominate the majority of Pukaki Downs. Hence, the owners are attempting to manage the spread by containment within the areas least likely to spread further, and removal of wildings from areas with higher risk of distant spread. Client Initiative In April, 2010, Nick Ledgard (NL) of Scion in Christchurch was asked by Blake Foster of Pukaki Tourism Holdings Ltd to carry out a field inspection and write a report on the wilding conifer situation and management options on Pukaki Downs station. NL visited the station from May 30 – June 2, 2010, after which he wrote this report. The project The major objectives of this report are to describe: a) the history of conifer spread, its origin and present location b) the likely future spread risk and pattern if left unmanaged c) priority control areas for minimising spread risk beyond present locations (particularly off-station) d) options for containing conifers within the managed areas. e) areas with least spread risk which could be managed for carbon storage. Key Findings o The wilding conifer problem along the south-western shores of Lake Pukaki is well known, situated alongside a major tourist route (SH80). Unfortunately, it involves the most spread-prone conifer species, contorta pine. o Wildings have been spreading since the 1960s, but the area obviously affected has only increased significantly in the last 15 years. This has been largely triggered by spread from the lake-shore plantings carried out after the lake was raised in the early 1970s, although most of the contorta forests in the southeastern portion of Pukaki Downs originate from trees present before that time. o The pattern of spread likely in the future is well indicated by the pattern of spread over the last few decades. These show that spread is mainly to the south, driven by the prevailing strong northerly winds, but that occasionally a more northeasterly wind can pick up and carry seed high into the air and more to the west. o Such an event in the early 1990s gave rise to outlier wildings in the upper Twizel river catchment, which were allowed to mature and cone before they were removed in the mid 2000s, giving rise to the islands of fringe spread so obvious today. o The ‘one-off’ nature of this spread event indicates that once the Twizel river flats are cleared, they should not be re-invaded often and hence should not be too difficult to keep clear in the future – as long as any wilding trees which do establish are removed before age 5-6, when they begin coning. o This ‘stitch-in-time-saves-nine’ maxim must always be kept foremost in any management plan. o Within the wilding cleared zones, a containment area of trees will remain. o Removal sweeps outside the containment area will be needed at least every 4 years for as long as seeding contorta pine trees remain in the locality. o The incidence of re-invasion, and need for timely removal, should be diminished by the control and containment management options recommended below. (i)
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Page 10 and 11: Project and client In April, 2010,
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Oral Submission Presentation by Blake Foster - New Zealand ...

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