Draft Town Belt Management Plan - Wellington City Council

scrub/shrubland (24.9 ha), mixed shrubland (exotic-native) and areas recently revegetated with
natives (26.9 ha). (Section 8 has maps of vegetation cover for each geographic sector.)
The native vegetation generally has the following characteristics:
• Plant communities are young and simple in structure and composition
• Broadleaf and podocarp species and associated seed sources are absent from the Town Belt
• There is a well-developed naturalised flora with some major weed infestations.
Ecological connectivity: For the health and resilience of forest areas, size, shape and
connectivity are important. In general, an optimal forest patch will have a low edge-to-area ratio
(eg circular or square, rather than linear or convoluted). It will also be large enough to ensure an
intact ‘core’ (where the core is an inner area not influenced by edge effects such as increased light,
wind and weeds). These elements can be addressed through restoration and revegetation priorities.
An optimal forest patch will also be close enough to other forests to sustain seed dispersal and
seedling recruitment. Research and modelling in New Zealand indicates that if optimal forest
patches (‘sources’) are interspersed by habitats receptive to seed germination (‘sinks’) then
ecological functions such as podocarp recruitment can be sustained 21 . The Town Belt, because of its
size and location, can provide ecological connectivity between sectors of the Town Belt as well as
between the Outer Green Belt to the west and south and Miramar Peninsula and the east harbour
reserves to the east.
5.3 Issues and opportunities
5.3.1 Restoration
Restoration is an important tool to ensure ecological health and resilience. Restoration may
enhance an area (eg restoring podocarp species to a forest remnant), it may buffer an area (eg
improving the shape or size of a forest remnant), or create ecological connectivity (eg revegetation
of a riparian area).
Priorities for restoration activities are developed at a city-scale in accordance with the Biodiversity
Action Plan (2007), but should also recognise specific opportunities for the Town Belt.
Opportunities for ecological enhancement planting will need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis
and should be informed by ecological research. In the case of the Town Belt it will also be dictated
by the speed and location of pine-tree removal.
Restoration work to fill gaps in the connectivity of forest reserves is important.
5.3.2 Pest management
Effectively managing pest plants and animals is also fundamental to the ecological health of the
Town Belt. Pest plants, or weeds, are an issue throughout the Town Belt and are a particular
concern for small, isolated reserves. Common weeds in the Town Belt are tradescantia, blackberry,
Japanese honeysuckle, climbing asparagus, eleagnus, sycamore, and karo. Gorse and broom are
also common, but these species can act as a nursery for the regeneration of native plants.
Pest-plant control is particularly important in areas where large trees have been removed and
during the early stages of regeneration. A good example can be seen on Te Ahumairangi where
10ha of pines were removed in 2005. The majority of the area was not replanted but natural
regeneration was encouraged through intensive weed control. The results of the programme
21 Meurk, C. and Hall, G. 2000. Biogeography and ecology of urban landscapes. In: Urban biodiversity and ecology as a
basis for holistic planning and design: proceedings of a workshop held at Lincoln University 28-29 October 2000. eds
G.H.Steward & M.E. Ignatieva. Christchurch: Wickliffe Press.
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