Increasing plant populations through propagation is one way to help threatened species. Last week, Wellington City Council biodiversity staff collected cuttings and seed from several plant populations in the Te Kopahou area on the coast south of Wellington. I tagged along.
The targeted species
Spectacular, steep habitat
Wellington’s south coast is a spectacular landscape, and more enjoyable on a good day.
Visitor information for Te Kopahou Reserve.
Why propagate these plants?
If the propagation is successful, the new plants will be used to supplement existing populations and create ‘insurance’ populations.
If you’re wondering why bother, check out the blog post Do we need New Zealand’s indigenous species?
But I’ll also add that the evolutionary legacy and ‘potential’ of a species is generally distributed across its different populations. That gives purpose to conserving regional representatives of even species that are not threatened nationally.
For an example of genetic variation in a New Zealand plant species, see the blog post DNA fingerprinting fierce lancewood.
Nice work. Is it possible to eliminate the goats in the area as they appear to be a big threat? Or is that too tricky.
Hi Nick,
Pigs are also a problem for the indigenous plants in the area. We saw many large Aciphylla squarrosa speargrasses that had been dug up by pigs.
Managing wild mammals in this area is tricky, as there is a mix of landowners with different views on the value of these mammals. Some are even encouraging the local wild pig population by putting food out for them. Some people value hunting opportunities more than their native plants (https://blog.tepapa.govt.nz/2015/10/01/do-we-need-new-zealands-indigenous-species/).
Totally impressed that WCC have biodiversity staff who look out for plant populations. Keep up the good work and let us know what else you are involved in!
Great article Leon, do you know if Anita is collecting for a specific restoration project, or could the propagated material become available to a wider group. Stuart Park might also be suitable habitat for some of the species you’ve mentioned.
Cheers
The plants will go into sites around Wellington’s South Coast eventually, but mostly we are trying to grow an insurance population of these remaining few plants. We are looking at developing the techniques involved with propagating these species and creating some stock plants that will be held at both Otari and Berhampore Nursery. Ideally we always collect seed but for some species this is not a feasible option. Some of the plants will also find there way into established community restoration projects on the South Coast