Trial suppression of juvenile tree weeds

Trial suppression of juvenile tree weeds by partial breaking and bending down of branches has been surprisingly successful since our ad hoc "necessity is the mother of partial-control intervention" in August 2018, when we first became aware of the huge numbers along the roadside and their rapid growth, pushing aside and overshadowing the mahoe, mapou, karamu and other quick-growing natives there.

We have now photographed and marked with orange tape several dozen specimens, with heights of c.30cmH (previously reduced to this height by partial breaking of leading stem) to .3mH.

Most of these trees are not in the defined Trial Site (where such trees were already marked and photographed) so we have advised the Ecocontract Operations Manager, who will communicate to weed control teams that these specimens are not for intervention.

While documenting and marking the privets we intervened similarly on the few Eleagnus that were encountered along the roadside, and cut all the Japanese honeysuckle within reach. It was pleasing to see native trees once again dominant in the roadside vegetation, with some mature trees showing new growth in areas released during the past year. There are still native trees about 10m high whose canopies remain invaded from further down the bank, but as with the tree weed trial, we have been astonished at the effective suppression of weed trees and vines and the growth of released native plants resulting from our ad hoc interventions during survey.

This has encouraged us to continue to spend those few minutes in passing whenever an opportunity arises to save a native tree from imminent destruction by weeds.

Posted on 19 de setembro de 2019, 11:46 AM by kaipatiki_naturewatch kaipatiki_naturewatch

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