Wilding conifers, also known as wilding pines, are invasive trees in the high country of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country ...

. Millions of dollars are spent on controlling their spread. In the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman S ...

they threaten 210,000 hectares of public land administered by the

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

. They are also present on privately owned land and other public land such as roadsides. The wilding conifers are considered to be a threat to

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') le ...

, farm productivity and to landscape values. Since they often invade tussock grasslands – which are characterised by low-lying vegetation that is considered to be a natural environment – the tall trees become a prominent and unwanted feature. Wilding pines, Canterbury, New Zealand

Species

Wilding conifers in the Jollie River valley

There are ten main species that have become wildings:''Wilding conifers – New Zealand history and research background'', a presentation by Nick Ledgard at the "Managing wilding conifers in New Zealand – present and future" workshop (2003) * Bishop pine (''

Pinus muricata ''Pinus muricata'', the bishop pine, is a pine with a very restricted range: mostly in California, including several offshore Channel Islands, and a few locations in Baja California, Mexico. It is always on or near the coast. In San Luis Obispo ...

'') * Corsican pine (''

Pinus nigra ''Pinus nigra'', the Austrian pine or black pine, is a moderately variable species of pine, occurring across Southern Europe from the Iberian Peninsula to the eastern Mediterranean, on the Anatolian peninsula of Turkey, Corsica and Cyprus, as wel ...

'') * Dwarf mountain pine (''

Pinus mugo ''Pinus mugo'', known as bog pine, creeping pine, dwarf mountain pine, mugo pine, mountain pine, scrub mountain pine, or Swiss mountain pine, is a species of conifer, native to high elevation habitats from southwestern to Central Europe and Sou ...

'') * Lodgepole pine (''

Pinus contorta ''Pinus contorta'', with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpine, ...

'') * Maritime pine (''

Pinus pinaster ''Pinus pinaster'', the maritime pine or cluster pine, is a pine native to the south Atlantic Europe region and parts of the western Mediterranean. It is a hard, fast growing pine bearing small seeds with large wings. Description ''Pinus pinast ...

'') * Ponderosa pine (''

Pinus ponderosa ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

'') * Radiata pine (Monterey Pine) (''

Pinus radiata ''Pinus radiata'' (syn. ''Pinus insignis''), the Monterey pine, insignis pine or radiata pine, is a species of pine native to the Central Coast of California and Mexico (Guadalupe Island and Cedros island). It is an evergreen conifer in the fa ...

'') * Scots pine (''

Pinus sylvestris ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and oran ...

'') * Douglas fir (''

Pseudotsuga ''Pseudotsuga'' is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Common names for species in the genus include Douglas fir, Douglas-fir, Douglas tree, Oregon pine and Bigcone spruce. ''Pseudotsuga menzie ...

'' species) * European larch (''

Larix decidua ''Larix decidua'', the European larch, is a species of larch native to the mountains of central Europe, in the Alps and Carpathian Mountains as well as the Pyrenees, with disjunct lowland populations in northern Poland and southern Lithuania. It ...

'') The various species dominate in different areas of New Zealand. Radiata pine (''Pinus radiata'') is used for 90% of the plantation forests in New Zealand and some of the wilding conifer is a result of these forests.

Control measures

Without any control measures, wilding conifers will spread over an increasing area with economic and environmental consequences. As well as volunteers organised by environmental groups, regional councils and the Department of Conservation invest in wild conifer removal. A South Island Wilding Conifer Management Group was formed in 2006 and obtained funding from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Sustainable Farming Fund. Mechanical removal by hand pulling seedlings, and the use of brush cutters and

chainsaw A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable gasoline-, electric-, or battery-powered saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. It is used in activities such as tree felling, limbing, bucking, pruning, ...

s are common control methods. Spray trials are also being carried out. In 2004 a spraying operation by the Department of Conservation at Mid Dome in the Southland region caused spray drift onto surrounding areas including the towns of Athol and Kingston.

Wilding conifers by region

Pest management is administered by regional councils. There are sixteen different regions in New Zealand and wilding conifers only occur in a few of these regions, predominantly in the South Island. The

manages wilding conifers on public land under its jurisdiction.

Canterbury

In its 2005 Pest Management Strategy the

Canterbury Regional Council Environment Canterbury, frequently abbreviated to ECan. is the promotional name for the Canterbury Regional Council. It is the regional council for Canterbury, the largest region in the South Island of New Zealand. It is part of New Zealand's st ...

(Ecan) has the objective of eradicating all self-sown wilding conifers in ecologically sensitive areas in its jurisdiction. To do this a range of measures are used, including carrying out wilding conifer control operations, encouraging reporting of the presence of wilding conifers, encouraging the removal of seed sources and advocating changes to the district plans of the

territorial authorities Territorial authorities are the second tier of local government in New Zealand, below regional councils. There are 67 territorial authorities: 13 city councils, 53 district councils and the Chatham Islands Council. District councils serve a ...

to prevent or control the planting of inappropriate conifers.

Hawke's Bay

Wilding conifers infest the

Kaweka Forest Park Kaweka Forest Park is in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand, adjacent to Kaimanawa Forest Park. This region of the central North Island contains large tracts of pine plantations, some of them also within the park, and as a consequence, invas ...

Marlborough

''Pinus contorta'' infests the south Marlborough area and is classed as a "Containment Control Pest", which are pests that are managed to prevent spreading to new areas. Other wilding species exist in Marlborough but Lodgepole Pine is the focus for pest management.

Otago

''Pinus contorta'' is a pest plant listed in the

Otago Regional Council Otago Regional Council (ORC) is the regional council for Otago in the South Island of New Zealand. The council's principal office is Regional House on Stafford Street in Dunedin with 250-275 staff, with smaller offices in Queenstown and Alexa ...

''Pest Management Strategy for Otago''

Southland

A major area of wilding conifer spread is in the Mid Dome Area in the

Southland region Southland ( mi, Murihiku) is New Zealand's southernmost region. It consists mainly of the southwestern portion of the South Island and Stewart Island/Rakiura. It includes Southland District, Gore District and the city of Invercargill. The r ...

. The Mid Dome Wilding Trees Charitable Trust was set up in 2006 and in 2008 the government allocated $54,000 from the Biodiversity Funds to control wildings on about in the area.

References

External links

Wilding pines
at the Department of Conservation
South Island Wilding Conifer Strategy (2001)
Department of Conservation
South Island Wilding Conifer Management GroupWilding Conifers in Canterbury
at Environment Canterbury
Wakatipu Wilding Conifer Strategy
at the Queenstown Lakes District Council
Waimakariri Ecological and Landscape Restoration Alliance
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilding Conifer Invasive plant species in New Zealand Conifers Environmental issues with forests Forest pathology