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

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

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

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

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

Department of Conservation Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

. 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 is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

, 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 natural environment or natural world encompasses all life, biotic and abiotic component, abiotic things occurring nature, naturally, meaning in this case not artificiality, artificial. The term is most often applied to Earth or some parts ...

– the tall trees become a prominent and unwanted feature.

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. Stands of Bishop Pine are also found in Point Reyes Nat ...

'') * 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 and Lower Austria to the eastern Mediterranean, on the Anatolian peninsula of Turkey, Corsica ...

'') * Dwarf mountain pine (''

Pinus mugo ''Pinus mugo'', known as dwarf mountain pine, mountain pine, scrub mountain pine, Swiss mountain pine, bog pine, creeping pine, or mugo 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 th ...

'') * 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 (on Guadalupe Island and Cedros island). It is an evergreen conifer in t ...

'') * Scots pine (''

Pinus sylvestris ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US), Baltic pine, or European red pine is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native plant, native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly s ...

'') * 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 menzies ...

'' 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, with small disjunct lowland populations in northern Poland. Its life span has been confirmed to be clos ...

'') 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 handheld power saw, power saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. Modern chainsaws are typically gasoline or electric and are used in activities such as t ...

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 Pesticide drift, also known as spray drift, is the unintentional diffusion of pesticides toward nontarget species. It is one of the most negative effects of pesticide application. Drift can damage human health, environment, and crops. Together ...

onto surrounding areas including the towns of Athol and

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

By region

Pest management is administered by regional councils. There are sixteen different

regions in New Zealand New Zealand is divided into sixteen regions for local government purposes. Eleven are administered by regional councils, and five are administered by unitary authorities, which are territorial authorities that also perform the functions of r ...

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 Regions of New Zealand, regional council for Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury, the largest region in the South Is ...

(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 ( Māori: ''mana ā-rohe'') are a tier of local government in New Zealand, alongside regional councils. There are 67 territorial authorities: 13 city councils, 53 district councils and the Chatham Islands Council. Dist ...

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, inva ...

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 Ale ...

''Pest Management Strategy for Otago''.

Southland

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

Southland region Southland () is New Zealand's southernmost region. It consists of the southwestern portion of the South Island and includes Stewart Island. Southland is bordered by the culturally similar Otago Region to the north and east, and the West Coast ...

. 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 Group

Wilding Conifers in Canterbury
at

Environment Canterbury 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 ...

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