weed invasion

Hawkweed invasion does not prevent indigenous non-forest vegetation recovery following grazing removal

Factors controlling vegetation restoration of depleted short-tussock grasslands are poorly understood. We investigated effects of mouse-ear hawkweed (‘hawkweed’, Pilosella officinarum) cover and environmental stress associated with landform and soil type on the rate and pattern of indigenous vegetation recovery from grazing in the highly-modified 1000-ha Lake Tekapo Scientific Reserve in the north of the Upper Waitaki (‘Mackenzie’) Basin. The reserve has been destocked of sheep and under effective rabbit control since 1992.

Lack of pre-dispersal seed predators in introduced Asteraceae in New Zealand

The idea that naturalised invading plants have fewer phytophagous insects associated with them in their new environment relative to their native range is often assumed, but quantitative data are few and mostly refer to pests on crop species. In this study, the incidence of seed-eating insect larvae in flowerheads of naturalised Asteraceae in New Zealand is compared with that in Britain where the species are native. Similar surveys were carried out in both countries by sampling 200 flowerheads of three populations of the same thirteen species.

Bone-seed (Chrysanthemoides monilifera ssp. monilifera) invasion effects on native regeneration in New Zealand coastal plant communities

Bone-seed, Chrysanthemoides monilifera ssp. monilifera (L.), is an environmental weed of coastal vegetation communities scattered throughout New Zealand. To assess the long-term implications for native forest regeneration in sites where bone-seed is present, we selected four study sites around Wellington, New Zealand, where bone-seed was abundant. We compared seed bank composition in bone-seed-invaded sites with nearby native forest patches, and monitored bone-seed and native seedling recruitment with and without control of mature bone-seed plants.