Fuscospora

Black beech (Fuscospora solandri) seedlings were planted in randomly located plots on Motuareronui (Adele Island) to assess whether survival was sufficient for applied nucleation to be used as a restoration method on parts of the adjacent mainland. The long-term goal of this project is to re-establish black beech as a keystone canopy species on ridges and headlands that lost their primary forest cover as a result of fires by the middle of last century. One hundred and sixty-four of 199 beech seedlings (82%) planted in 2014 survived to 2019.

Pinus contorta (lodgepole pine) is invasive in many southern hemisphere countries, having spread extensively from original plantings. It is widely controlled to limit its spread and negative impacts, and is generally assumed to have little value for native plant biodiversity. We surveyed vegetation in two stands of montane wilding P. contorta forest, and recorded a subcanopy of more than 50 native plant species from 35 genera, including trees, shrubs, ferns, and orchids.