forest regeneration

Knowing when native regeneration is for you, and what you should do about it. The Aotearoa New Zealand context

Forest restoration is an activity that can be readily undertaken to address both the climate and biodiversity crises. In Aotearoa New Zealand, aspirations for large-scale native forest restoration are growing across governmental and private sectors and a considerable focus to date has been on forest establishment by actively planting native trees.

Seasonal patterns of resource selection by introduced sika deer (Cervus nippon) in Kaweka Forest Park Recreational Hunting Area, New Zealand

Sika deer (Cervus nippon) have attained high densities within their introduced range in the central North Island, New Zealand. They are an important big-game species for recreational hunters in New Zealand, but they can have unwanted impacts on native plants, such as reducing seedling growth rates. Management of sika deer requires detailed knowledge about which resources are important to them and how resource selection changes temporally.

Regeneration of taraire (Beilschmiedia tarairi) and kohekohe (Dysoxylum spectabile) in a forest remnant on Tiritiri Matangi Island, Northern New Zealand

Quantitative and qualitative studies of understorey regeneration in a mature kohekohe-taraire dominated forest remnant were undertaken before and after the extensive replanting and species reintroduction programme on Tiritiri Matangi, a northern New Zealand island. The changes in regeneration patterns of taraire and kohekohe within this remnant before the restoration programme, and twenty years later, are described.

Response of seedling communities to mammalian pest eradication on Ulva Island, Rakiura National Park, New Zealand

Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) were eradicated from Ulva Island, Rakiura National Park, in 1996. The aim of our work was to determine if seedlings and saplings increased in density and/or species richness following this eradication. In 2003, we took advantage of eight permanent plots (5 × 5 m) that had been established on Ulva Island in 1991, by counting seedlings and saplings of woody species, including tree ferns. Over this period, total numbers of woody seedlings (< 30 cm tall), and saplings (30 cm – 2 m tall) did not increase significantly (P > 0.05).