Diario del proyecto Auckland RENH Kaipatiki Creek Trial - Umbrella Project

Archivos de Diario para abril 2019

lunes, 22 de abril de 2019

Madeira vine

We have no historic photographic observations of Madeira on the site, but the 1997-99 Plant Species list for the site records Madeira as observed, manually controlled, and "eradicated". Tubers may have remained unseen, however, and no systematic monitoring of the site of that invasion was done, so it is possible that the current extensive invasion stems from that one. However, in our Weed Invasion collection we have designated Madeira a "new" invasion rather than an "ongoing" one, since it was not observed during most of the 1997-99 restoration period.

The Madeira vine invasion in Zone Eb from streamside to roadside, as observed and identified by telephoto photography during Survey 2019:

The invasion was first identified in a dying Tanekaha 10-20mH on the Kaipatiki Road side of the stream bank:
Madeira in dying tanekaha
(only the top part of the tree observable, from a break in canopy near Kaipatiki Roadside).

The top of a tall nikau, probably on the Witheford side streambank, can be seen behind a floral Madeira crown

Several telephoto observations from the roadside were made until a likely cause for the Tanekaha's ongoing death was discovered: Madeira vine is flowering throughout the dead top of one Tanekaha. Another dead tree that looks like Tanekaha is nearby, possibly affected but its lower part not visible from above.

A single Madeira vine is visible from ground to canopy in a Mahoe halfway up the bank, looking down on it from Kaipatiki Rd through a telephoto lens.

https://inaturalist.nz/observations/22879594
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/22876285
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/22876284

The Madeira may also be in a tall nikau visible over the top of the Mahoe, its crown shaft appearing to be surrounded by Madeira flowers.

The tubers are visible on the stems in the caopy of the dying Tanekaha. With its sparse dead branches bearing ripening Tanekaha fruit, decorated with tinsel-like strands ofMadeira flowers, it looks like a very sad Christmas tree.

https://inaturalist.nz/observations/22876273

Also possibly affected, just upstream of the dying tanekaha:
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/22876283

Unfortunately we had not yet discovered this hard-to-spot invasion when Wildlands visited the site to swap notes recently prior to the annual weed control operation for Witheford Reserve.

[EDIT 29 August 2019: It was later learned that the Witheford Reserve Ecocontract at the time did not cover this side of the stream, which though a Significant Ecological area is apparently not a Reserve. However, we have recently been told told this area will now be addressed as part of the Witheford Reserve Ecocontract.]

[The viewpoint all for these observations is also useful for spotting the canopies of a few tall tree privet, pine, wattle, and woolly nightshade that would not be obvious from the ground, and can't be seen otherwise due to other canopy.

The viewpoint is itself the site of moth plant vines 3cm D in pittosporum, cut but not uprooted and the pods still in the trees, and a Japanese honeysuckle invasion cut and uprooted where found in roadside trees].

Publicado el lunes, 22 de abril de 2019 a las 11:48 AM por kaipatiki_naturewatch kaipatiki_naturewatch | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

Tanekaha along the Kaipatiki Creek in Glenfield

This one, standing below Kaipatiki Rd opposite the tennis courts, appears healthy observed with telephoto lens from above the footbridge on the opposite bank
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/24579727

while 10-15m away on the opposite bank this one is dead
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/25153078

[EDIT (observation was mislaid at time of writing this post)]
and this one appears to be dying
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/13880360

and there are some possible dead ones rotting.

The same rotting trunk observed in Dec 18
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/26432413
and June 2019
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/26421081

Old photos suggest several tanekaha of similar size were in this location in 1997-99.

There are several dead and dying beside the path near the upstream entry, while the older one at Rimu Pool further downstream looked vigorous and healthy in winter 2019. In 1997 there were scattered tanakaha along the streambank throughout the site, common in places. Some were observed to be sick in 1999. Most of the ones we have seen so far in this upstream area are dead or dying. Archive observations are being studied for more history.

There is one apparently in reasonable health a few metres from the water's edge and a few metres to the left of the Native Plant Trail going down, leaning slightly over the stream, observed in August 2018

The whole of this tree can be seen in a May 2019 observation from two angles, with telephoto close-ups including the very top, apparently with some small dead lichen-covered branches:
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/24775310

There are two about 30mH, apparently healthy, in dense wild revegetation near the bottom of a steep bank below the road that was rarely if ever accessed for restoration and never by the public (Zone Fb).

This tree

  • https://inaturalist.nz/observations/22876272
    was recently identified from the banktop beside Kaipatiki Rd, using a telephoto lens. It has Madeira vine flowering in its very top, the branches of which are mostly dead, though many green "leaves" and red fruit can be seen.

A repeat observation on May 1 with better images of foliage:
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/24363553

A possible tanekaha beside it, dead:

More about the Madeira infestation:
https://inaturalist.nz/posts/23717-madeira-vine

A significant Tanekaha on the restoration site in 1999 appears healthy at road level, below a retaining wall built to keep the road away from the mature Rimu and Tanekaha on this bank of Rimu Pool:

Just upstream of there is a long high retaining wall built for road construction in 1999, in Zone La, referred to in 1999 as Tanekaha Bank, at the top of Tanekaha Falls. At the lower end of this wall a car was observed upside down in the stream, the result of a recent car accident damaging and bringing down a large kanuka:

Recently declining tanekaha include at least one dead and one dying among a group of Tanekaha under and near the Monterey pine near the entry to the public walkway to Valecrest Place and the Native Plant Trail:

Shortly downstream on the Native Plant Trail, a single tanekaha c.40cmD with a trunk wound about 30cmL, a few metres above the stream and leaning over it, on the opposite, Bayview-side, bank and 2-3m from the Native Plant Trail:

We are unable to assess the health of this one. It has well-spaced foliage on high branches visible only with telephoto lens, and so far the overhead sunlight has prevented a clear image.

A January 1998 observation

  • https://inaturalist.nz/observations/15905326
    showing the trunk of one within a metre of the well-used public footpath from Kaipatiki Rd to Valecrest Place, also used to access the Native Plant Trail which became publicly accessible in 1999 and has been used since, initially by cyclists until it became too rutted, and subsequently by joggers, many of whom who still favour it, enjoying the soft surface (personal communications from joggers June 12018-April 2019).

This tree was observed with sooty-mould like coverage of its trunk in approx 2000-2002, and a few years later had lost all its branchlets.

Recently an iNaturalist member drew our attention to recent Auckland University research suggesting kauri dieback can affect tanekaha. This research was reported here:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/101718676/tanekaha-affected-by-kauri-dieback-study-suggests

Here are all the observations uploaded to date focused on identified or possible tanekaha within the Creek restoration site, including repeat observations of some specimens:
https://inaturalist.nz/observations?order_by=observed_on&place_id=131524&subview=grid&taxon_id=54687&user_id=kaipatiki_naturewatch

That link is to Search results sorted by "Date Observed" to iNat. You can adjust filters to tailor your search and view of observations

One 1998 observation showed a purple discolouration of a leaf, and the photo was titled "tanekaha spray damage". It was taken about a year after a 6 -week 3-man herbicide operation there, targeting massive Elaeagnus bushes lining the streambank on which the tree stood, and shortly after herbicide spraying of kikuyu the entire length of the bank, from the wild revegetation up to the road.

Publicado el lunes, 22 de abril de 2019 a las 09:23 PM por kaipatiki_naturewatch kaipatiki_naturewatch | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

miércoles, 24 de abril de 2019

Wattles along Kaipatiki Stream

An Observation Field has been created for observations of brush or black wattles, at any stage of development, controlled or uncontrolled, current or historical. Using the dropdown menu beside the Field name in any observation, you can view all observations to which this field has been added, or all those with the same Value, eg Seedling uncontrolled, Adult controlled, etc.

This is a direct link to Search results for observations with this Field added:
https://inaturalist.nz/observations?verifiable=any&place_id=any&field:KC%20Wattles

Results can be filtered by Place (eg Kaipatiki Creek Zone [Ca, Cb, etc] or by the time period in which they were either observed or uploaded.

However, if you would like a direct link to such a subset, please ask.

Black wattles were common downstream of Stanley Rd, ie Zones K-Z, in 1997-99, and are now occasional there on the restoration site, and abundant in the roadside "native plantings"on the other side of the road. [These native plantings were created to meet Resource Consent requirements for road creation and subdivision development in 1999 and subsequently].

Brush wattles were not identified as such on the site in 1997-99, but live adult wattles were the commonest tall trees in the upstream area. Many wattles in the upstream area had been ringbarked earlier and were decaying in situ, before being felled in 1999 for safety due to the creation of a publicly accessible bush trail among them. Galls were commonly observed among fallen material, but some specimens may have been brush wattles.

Brush wattles at all stages are now common in the roadside margin from Stanley Rd (Zone K) upstream to Easton Park Parade (Zone A). There are also two or more large adult black wattles by the boundary fence of Glenfield College, across the road from the stream in Zone Eb.

For this RENH Methodology Trial, seedling occurrence is being recorded as observed a) in existing Tradescantia coverage b) post-Tradescantia control and c) in the roadside margin.

In the Tradescantia Trial Zone, wattle seedlings encountered are uprooted if possible, otherwise their brittle stems are easily broken. We do not expect broken seedlings to regrow, but will be monitoring results.

Larger seedlings/juveniles encountered are broken, partially broken and bent down, or sawn, as convenient. As with seedlings and the adult specimen already documented at Gahnia Grove,
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/21645538

We do not expect broken seedlings to regrow, but will be monitoring results.

Publicado el miércoles, 24 de abril de 2019 a las 10:57 PM por kaipatiki_naturewatch kaipatiki_naturewatch | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

jueves, 25 de abril de 2019

The Native Plant Trail

Some June 2018-19 observations of the Native Plant Trail:
https://inaturalist.nz/observations?order=asc&order_by=observed_on&place_id=any&subview=grid&verifiable=any&field:KCRENH19%20Survey=Path

And some of the less-recognised native plants bordering the path:
https://inaturalist.nz/posts/24949-wild-native-pathside-vegetation

Background:
When the path was constructed, its primary function was to enable the public to experience the natural heritage along the stream. It has no connections with housing or roads, though at each end it connects to a public access walkway; at the Eastern end, the Native Plant Trail starts as a fork from an older path between Glenfield College and Valecrest Place via a steep set of steps. At the Western end, just upstream of the tidal reach of the stream, the Trail connects with a footbridge and short walkway between Kaipatiki Rd and Fernlea Rise.

The quickest and easiest walk between these two points is along Kaipatiki Rd, where there is a concrete footpath on the Glenfield College and Orchards Retirement Village side, and a mown grass path under the canopy of the native planting on the other side of the road, at the top of the streamside bank.

So the Native Plant Trail is was created solely to provide a bushwalk, through lush, dense, diverse and vulnerable habitat, including many species not seen in many local reserves, such as kotukutuku, toropapa, Kohia, bush lawyer, kiekie, puawhananga, mangemange, many species of native ferns and mosses, giant centipede, and peripatus.

The path was kept as far as possible from the streambank to protect the integrity of the canopy shading the stream. It's design enabled enjoyment and observation of flora and fauna, without disturbing the insects or the progress of revegetation by walking on it.

Short boardwalks were built over areas of permanent runoff at the bottom of steep banks, and across culverts both naturally formed and eroded by piped stormwater and sewerage.

To minimise light invasion and interruption of habitat, the path was no more than a metre wide. It's level surface was created by cutting with a spade on the uphill side, leaving a low bank of bare clay which within a few months was green with fern sporelings and mosses,.

Many ringbarked dead wattles along the Trail were cut to ensure public safety, and these were used where convenient to edge the path.(The areas of mass wattle felling also destroyed canopy for a few years, and those areas of light invasion needed the same monitoring and weeding as the unvegetated streambanks until canopy was restored). So on the dowhill side of thepath. existing low native vegetation was bordered not only by the rearrangement of nearby logs, but also by many pieces of felled wattle. As these decayed, they provided invertebrate habitat, eventually adding woody material to the path surface to help form the vegetative swale necessary to drain and filter rain and runoff before it entered the stream. Channelling of stormwater was avoided because of the visible ongoing erosion of streambanks in other areas where channelling had been done.

It was expected that, if necessary, restoration work and walks would be postponed till drier weather, or additional leaf litter and woody material would be applied to prevent slipping, rather than imperil the restoration of the stream by impermeable surfacing, loose metal, or extensive construction with treated timber.

The path surface was initially wood chip mulch, which absorbed moisture and became boggy.

Some sections were then filled with dead pampas stumps, covered with a smooth surface of dead pampas foliage, a combination which drained well and rotted slowly.

In some places the path drained adequately through its natural accumulation of leaf litter, replenished as needed with freshly fallen twigs, bark and tree fern fronds, abundant throughout most of the Trail's length. As the pathside vegetation grew taller and denser, it would provide shade deep enough to protect the path from most weed invasion.

It was hoped that the experience of such diversity and beauty would attract the new visitors to this Reserve to learn something of its vulnerability and of its need for protection by changes in gardening practices and plant choices, with at least some of them learning to identify a weed they could monitor and remove during their walks, or to supplement the path surface with a fern frond or two on each visit, especially in Winter when it becomes slippery or boggy.

Publicado el jueves, 25 de abril de 2019 a las 01:54 AM por kaipatiki_naturewatch kaipatiki_naturewatch | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

viernes, 26 de abril de 2019

First Progress Report - 8. Dumping and litter

Dumping was much more of a problem in 1997, when the open kikuyu-covered banks permitted easy hurling of rubbish right down the bank, including cars.

Litter is also much less now, and stays near the top of the bank, caught by the higher vegetation.

In 1997 - 99 plastic drink bottles lined the gutter along the road at the top of the streambank until stormwater washed them into the stream, where we had to pick our way between the rocks and natural debris to extract them and carry them back up the bank to pile them for collection by Conservation Cleaners, who were contracted to remove these piles along the length of the stream, in addition to large items they hauled or winched out of the stream separately.

Archive observation from 1998:
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/18344095

At that time we requested narrower grilles on the drains along the road, but were told these silt sump entries needed to be wide enough to receive plastic bottles etc in order to keep the streets clean! The prevention of street litter being washed into the stream with stormwater may have been achieved by grilles or other means since that time, or there may be less littering, or perhaps even less use of disposable bottles!

Plastic bags in the trees and on the ground are also much fewer.

For some reason fresh new empty wine bottles appear at least weekly, but at least they are raely broken.

We have been putting such refuse in or beside the rubbish bin which was placed at the entry to the "Native Plant Trail" Bush Path in 1998 to assist the volunteer restoration, and this recently found refuse has all been picked up. (This rubbish bin may be another factor helping reduce litter in the bush and stream).

At the downstream end of the selected Tradescantia Trial Zones, 8-10 car tyres and a couple of wooden pallets were found on the first day of site survey, lightly covered by Tradescantia. These were all dragged to the roadside and picked up the following day by Auckland Council in response to our phone request.

We happened to meet the contractor onsite. He checked that he had all the right stuff, as he had taken the welcome initiative of uplifting a live leafy yucca (vegetative invasion from dumped refuse) that we had uprooted the previous day, as he was aware that they are vegetatively invasive.
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/22344047

[This yucca could have been regrowth from our ad hoc removal during informal survey and yucca-uprooting last year. We placed the removed plant clear of the canopy on the grass verge, hoping a contractor might notice and take it away, but we did not make a service request for pick up of a single plant.
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/17522510

which followed this observation and confirmation of ID in August 2018:
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/15799808]

The prompt and well-informed service in response to our request for pick up of the tyres and pallets immediately improved appearances and gave us a good start with restoration of the Trad zones.

That day or the following one, however, at midday, we noted drooping Mahoe leaves in the interior of this planted roadside "forest". We also found an area of soil uncovered in our initial exploratory Trad removal to be so dry that it was dust, in which a finger could be inserted 5-6mm.

We observed that the mahoe leaf droop was in the area of the car-tyres' removal, where the covering Tradescantia had been completely - and easily - uplifted in removing the tyres and other refuse, leaving about 5x5m of ground bare, exposing superficial mahoe roots previously shaded and kept mopist by refuse and tradescantia.

The area was promptly re-covered with loose Tradescantia, both that removed earlier from the spot, and some more from other areas where cover was not needed.
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/21771487

The two affected mahoe recovered after about 10 days during which it rained twice, the second rain being heavy for a time.

In future dry seasons we will postpone widespread removal of either refuse or ground-covering weeds from areas of surface tree roots. We are also taking this effect into consideration in our Tradescantia removal planning. (See future Posts for more on this observation of Tradescantia removal and drought).

Publicado el viernes, 26 de abril de 2019 a las 04:48 AM por kaipatiki_naturewatch kaipatiki_naturewatch | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

First Progress Report - 7. Sewage overflow reporting

Additional activities have included the reporting and observation of a sewage overflow from the manhole above the Creek at the Tradescantia Trial Zone. Arriving at the site during rain we heard and saw the mixture of sewage and stormwater as a waterfall down the fern-covered bank from the manhole beside the Native Plant Trail, with solid waste floating on the path and caught on the boardwalk.

Our photo of the waterfall was blurred by rain on the camera, but we got a shot of the stream flowing beneath the bridge just upstream of the waterfall. The waterfall from beneath the manhole cover was whitish, as usual with stormwater.

We have never seen the stream this colour before, and wonder what it was due to?

Not knowing that sewage overflows need to be reported to Watercare, we tried to reach the Council Call centre, which was busy. While on hold we walked down the trail intending to check the other manholes, but it began to rain again, so we returned up the trail and across the footbridge, as a heavy rain warning had been issued for that afternoon, and heavy rain can occasionally bring the stream level up to the footbridge.

Eventually we learned the number to call was Watercare, and asked them to check the other manholes along the stream. The manhole was unblocked promptly, along with all the other manholes along the stream, and the sewage sprayed with disinfectant.

Overflows were common in 1997-99 and presumably still are, as Reserve users have reported a foul smell, both organic and chemical, repeatedly pervading the entire Reserve.

In 1997-99 the white powder disinfectant spread on the sewage left on the banks used to kill all the young native ferns which had arisen in the year after handweeding of tradescantia.

We understand Watercare is aware that this pipeline overflows frequently. We hope to learn more, as in our call to report the overflow we requested a report of the outcome, water quality, overflow history and the name of the chemical used, as we hand-weed the ferns, parataniwha, nikau and other vegetation on the bank below the manholes in our Trial Site. The spray used on the sewage-covered banks recently has not obviously harmed the ferns and other plants, as the powder disinfectant used 1997-99 did. We asked Watercare to let us know what disinfectant is currently used, for our Health and Safety planning and to inform our continued observation of the areas treated with it, but have not yet had a reply.

Publicado el viernes, 26 de abril de 2019 a las 04:49 AM por kaipatiki_naturewatch kaipatiki_naturewatch | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

First Progress Report - 6. to plan and commence tradescantia control for best results in the given sites

Initial findings in mid-March in the Tradescantia zones chosen for this Trial were:

1) Except at the very outer margin adjacent mown exotic grasses and herbs, no seedlings, either weed or native, were present in the tall deep Tradescantia among the planted trees, ie from the road edge to the 1997 margin of wild regeneration that bordered much, but not all, of the stream on the Kaipatiki Rd side.

2) Dessication of the soil during late summer drought was severe, except in the area of our earlier, October 2018, exploratory weeding of tradescantia, which was damp beneath the tradescantia. An area several metres wide appears to be a run off channel, its source unknown as the road above appears to be guttered here as it is throughout the length of the road.

Though since ameliorated in places by recent rains, the dry conditions persist (now early May) along the road edge, except in similar small areas of persistent run-off from unknown sources.

The removal of gutters the length of the road would allow rain to reach the soil alongside, but presumably no practical way has yet been found to remove gutters or make them permeable without massive erosion by the force of water collected during heavy rain events from the impermeable expanse of the wide road.

Most of the trees in the Tradescantia Trial site were planted in 1999 or shortly after. Those that have survived are presumably adapted to the moisture levels that prevail here, but some at least do appear to be sensitive to sudden loss of ground cover during drought, and, should ground cover loss occur as it did in our initial removal of tradescantia and of dumped refuse, to benefit from its replacement with loose tradescantia.

We began exploratory removal of Tradescantia in the Trad zones Ca, Cb, CC, Da and Db on 17th March, after a day of steady rain. All appeared fresh and lush, including the apparently dense Tradescantia 40-50cm high.

Surprisingly, when uplifted the sward was found to be composed of fewer than expected, widely-separated stems, 1-2m long, shallowly rooted and easily removed entire. The soil surface had a coarse, permeable, fibrous texture, with scant leaf litter and humus. The superficial root hairs of the many mahoe were presumably obtaining moisture from the very surface of the soil, shaded and kept moist by the Tradescantia which by its horizontally-layered arrangement presented a continuous barrier to evaporation.

Also observed on disturbing the Tradescantia were S. African mantis (2 ) and a Giant centipede. It scuttled to safety too fast to photograph, but the location was interesting:
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/21591744

We observed leaf droop among mahoe and kawakawa when noonday sun shone through the light and incomplete mahoe canopy on the day after removing 100% ground cover by inorganic refuse, and about 20% of the ground cover by Tradescantia, from this upper bank during drought.

This leaf droop extended over the next week to mahoe and some kawakawa in the less-dry area where we had removed ground cover by Tradescantia from approx 25% of the area, with no significant refuse removal.

We were able to restore ground cover throughout within a day or so of the initial observation of leaf droop, by gathering additional Tradescantia from the lower bank, but in several trees in the area of the refuse removal the leaf droop continued, then worsened. Some trees were affected and some not. Juveniles and adults appeared similarly affected. On one large mahoe, outer foliage at the roadside was unaffected while leaves under the canopy drooped. This we attributed possibly to the exposed foliage being supplied by roots in the deeper humus created by the roaqdside weeds ongoing development and decomposition, or possibly to Tradescantia having been retained at the road edge during refuse removal in order to suppress the exotic grasses there.

Further exploration revealed that this Western end of the Trial site, as well as the bank beyond it which had received no intervention, was drier throughout, indicated among other things by purpling of the tradescantia beyond the Trial site, where Tradescantia was also less dense and tall.

About 10 days after dessication by refuse and Tradescantia removal, during which a light rain produced no obvious improvement in the affected trees, there was another rain, heavy at times, and the turgidity of the mahoe leaves was partially restored.

A subsequent day of light rain within the next week returned appearances to normal throughout the site.

At the base of some trees near the top of the upper bank the soil remained completely dry, even during light rainfall; presumably these tree bases are canopied by their own or other foliage, preventing light-moderate rain reaching the ground.

So Tradescantia removal needs to be staged very cautiously, and be accompanied by replacement ground cover by mulch eg decomposed tradescantia. The entire infestation could have been removed entirely while the ground was dry, and would not have returned withn that area, only by reinvasion from adjacent infestation. Seedlings and juveniles being absent on those upper banks, it would have been a quick job , and an opportunity to demonstrate the effectiveness of manual removal. However, we believe it would have been followed not by seedling development, but by the permanent exposure of existing tree roots surrounded by dry, bare compacted clay, and the permanent loss of many other biota currently supported by the Tradescantia.

This effect has been seen in a home "garden" (wild regen native forest margin from which a moderate invasion of Tradescantia was removed between 1999-2001, and remains tradescantia-free (though all neighbouring properties support it to the fenceline, where it is controlled by hand), and has produced few seedlings of any kind in the subsequent years .

The effect was also seen in the downstream Kaipatiki Rd bank, where Tradescantia 100% removed by hand in 1999, and the development of native seedlings in the margin of wild regen canopy seems to have stopped at just that point. There is even a staked 1m quadrant in which a student conducted a seedling count. (We were not informed if the study was concluded). That spot is now a dry, mostly bare clay bank ,with a few strands of Tradescantia making a slow approach from the margin of the nearest current infestation. However, we have not been able to ascertain whether or when any firther weed control interventions occurred. It would be very useful to the assessment of manual removal to have information on any other interventions in the area, whether manual or chemical
.
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/17871842
and https://inaturalist.nz/observations/16582848
and an area nearby unweeded due to steepness of bank:
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/16619306

Winter rains should ameliorate the ground conditions in due course, but we need to anticipate similar conditions next summer. Therefore a very limited removal of Tradescantia is planned for this Trial. It will be along the wetter lower bank, "KRS", from where it drops steeply to the stream. It will also be removed from this steep bank directly above the stream wherever moisture is adequate, native regeneration likely, and access possible.

KRS bank will provide some useful data as we monitor seedling and sporeling generation in this limited area, including weed seedlings which are currently absent frm the Tradescantia-covered banks despite many mature fruiting tree privet, woolly nightshade, brush wattle, Elaeagnus, Kahili ginger, Japanese honeysuckle, mothplant and Calystegia all around them and overhead. In the proximity of nikau and other kereru-feeding trees, we also expect Tradescantia release to produce Phoenix and Bangalow palm seedlings, as they are now common in streamside areas without dense ground cover

We also hope to demonstrate complete removal from some small areas of differing conditions

On the porous sand banks of the stream itself, densely covered in lush understorey, a small area has been weeded already. A few native seedlings and sporeling have been released during this initial exploration, and further development will be monitored

Due to the nature of stream bank and dam formation, much of the Tradescantia is rooted deeply in many layers of sand, so there will be ongoing regrowth, along with reinvasion through flooding from upstream, with entrapment among the logs and debris that form dams.

Publicado el viernes, 26 de abril de 2019 a las 04:50 AM por kaipatiki_naturewatch kaipatiki_naturewatch | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

First Progress Report - 5. to cordon a Tradescantia trial site

We have partially cordoned off a Tradescantia trial site to safeguard it from accidental trampling by public, volunteers or reserve users, and to make contractors aware of the Trial.

A pigtail cordon has been erected along 2 sides of the site so far:

-beside Kaipatiki Rd opposite Glenfield College Tennis Courts, under the canopy margin parallel to the mown-grass footpath , and

-beside the public footpath from the entry to the path to ValeCrest Place and to the "Native Plant Trail".
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/22911594
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/22911786

The 3rd side of the Trial site is cordoned only part of the way down a steeply sloping bank through dense forest understorey not likely to be accessed by the public. We have indicated this boundary in onsite meetings with Wildlands and Ventia path maintenance operations managers, and no difficulties are foreseen in keeping the Trial site free of conflicting interventions.

UPDATE: The area is to be marked with pigtail cordon when funds permit, and in the meantime is partially indicated by piles of Tradescantia removed from the streambanks to decompose in site, creating habitat and restoring soil health.

Spot-spraying of weeds by Ventia has been suspended in this area for the duration of this Trial.

The boundary between the revegetation area and the Native Plant Trail has been identified in principle, ie 1.2m wide and following the curving line of its original construction, with the onsite advice of the Auckland Council Parks Service Delivery Coordinator (SDC) and Ventia operations manager.

Our Trial site borders this path for about 65m, following the twists and turns of the path as it winds through dense lush streamside forest, including some areas where earlier revegetation has been lost through off-track walking, but can be restored with careful handweeding and improved path defjnition.

Weed-removal often facilitates and encourages pedestrian access to areas of existing or future revegetation, so that seedlings and small plants are destroyed and soil becomes compacted.

In the case of this Native Plant Trail, which no longer has a layer of permeable material and is also too uneven to walk on easily in some places due to erosion by constant runoff from the steep banks above combined with compaction by heavy footfalls in winter, there has also recently been a great deal of unauthorised cutting of vegetation by Reserve users, widening the bare area from a single c.1m wide planned and constructed path, to a bare and compacted area up to 2-3 m. Native plants arising in the borders are likely to be mistakenly perceived by Reserve users as weeds, and trampled or removed. Conversations with Reserve users over the years and currently indicate that perceived "weeds" include the intended native revegetation essential to the survival of the forest and stream, eg tree seedlings and juveniles, grasses (Oplismenus hirtellus supsp. imbecilis or "Basket grass", Microlaena spp) sedges, reeds and rushes, (Carex, Gahnia, Dianella, Schoenus), mosses, fungi, diverse native ferns and tree ferns and their sporelings, and Centella uniflora, a soft and compact groundcover currently abundant on the streambank where there is no path, but absent alongside of the Native Plant Trail.

To help define the borders of the path and restore compacted soil, we plan to place piles of decomposing tradescantia brought out of infested areas and moved uphill away from runoff, to restore soil health, habitat and the integrity of wild revegetation. The borders of the path in the two years after its construction naturally hosted diverse native trees, shrubs, vines, groundcovers, mosses, lichens and fungi, some of them locally uncommon or rare such as Fuchsia excorticata.

Under the large pine tree near the entry, the pine litter inhibits many species but hosts an interesting combination including some not seen elsewhere on the site. Under this 80-100 year old pine, tanekaha, pigeonwood, parsonsia, kanono, karamu, aruhe, hangehange, tree ferns, and mahoe, with kiekie, ti kouka, carex and ferns at the streamside, are accompanied by toropapa (Alseuosmia macrophylla), native orchids, and single specimens of petako and huruhuruwhenua in the root buttresses of the pine. There are few weeds due to the pine litter.

Several of the young toropapa observed over twenty years had grown to about a metre high at the base of the cutting beside the c.2.5m wide metalled path of the entry. In mid- March they were cut down, along with several aruhe, hangehange, and kanono, and Parsonsia, the clay bank left starkly bare and the freshly cut stems found tossed down a bank.

We hope to restore soil quality and re-establish the integrity of the pathside habitat throughout the approx. 60m width of our Trial site.

The cordon already holds small home-made signs explaining its purpose and providing contact numbers for the writer, Auckland Council, and Watercare (to encourage reporting of sewage overflows).

It could also be used to hang small interpretive signs identifying plants and features along the Trail, and the techniques used to protect them.

Publicado el viernes, 26 de abril de 2019 a las 04:50 AM por kaipatiki_naturewatch kaipatiki_naturewatch | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

First Progress Report - 4. to liaise with other volunteers and contractors involved in the site

Others involved in care and use of the site include Auckland Council Parks, their contractors Wildlands Consultants and Ventia, Kaipatiki Project (KP) *, and an individual Animal Pest Control volunteer for the site.

UPDATE Wildlands recently conducted a weed-control operation i the Kaipatiki Esplandade Reserve, ie the downstream area to the estuary and coastal cliff, though we are not yet sure of the boundary of this Reserve. A follow-up operation is to take place shortly.

Wildlands staff will shortly be conducting their annual weed-control operation for Witheford Reserve. Wildlands Consultants' Acting Operations Manager for the area has maintained regular communication with us since advised of this Project, met onsite to view the Project area, and integrated our Trial area and other marked areas into their planning. Though it would be impossible, on these steep forested banks of dense understorey and ground cover, to locate and control all weed invasions in such a short time, it is good news that Kahili ginger will be less dominant on affected streambanks, fewer juvenile Tree privet will survive to replace native trees, and the threat of Phoenix palms will be reduced, and for a few weeks at least until the seedlings arise, we will see a reduction in Moth plant.

We are particularly pleased that Wildlands plan to cut down the almost-mature Bangalow palms, as it would be a great loss to have this invasive species, not observed on the site in 1999, multiply here to replace the nikau in a locally rare example of a streamside forest community lush with kiekie, diverse native ferns, vines and carex.

We have met onsite with the service delivery co-ordinator for Auckland Council Parks and the manager of Ventia's path maintenance operations in the reserve. They have approved our proposed Trial site and the completion of the cordon along its boundary with the Native Plant Trail, maintaining public access with a minimum of 1.2m width and defining the path to allow restoration of the habitat beside it.

Where there is not 1.2m of level ground, eg where rutting and erosion have occurred, we will liaise with Ventia through the Parks' Community Ranger to establish what area should be maintained as path.

It needs to be noted that in some areas, eg on the steep banks of diverse mature native vegetation above Maire Pool, the path was designed and built with less than 1.2m width between existing trees. To widen the path in such areas would jeopardise the integrity of vegetation and the stability of such banks, which receive heavy run off in winter from the even higher banks above them. However, these areas have tended not to be significantly widened by pedestrians, perhaps because on such steep banks pedestrians use the timber steps provided, often much less than a metre wide but perfectly comfortable, the closely adjacent vegetation providing a sense of security in case of a fall.

Herbicide use within the forest apparently sometimes occurs in response to Reserve user requests for weed control of the path. The entire path is never sprayed, only spot-spraying of weeds in the path, so the general absence of weeds throughout the path is presumably due to shade and trampling, not suppression of plants by spraying. We have asked to be advised of the history of herbicide spraying throughout the site in both Witheford and Kaipatiki Esplanade Reserves on the area currently identified by Reserve users as path, and of any future herbicide application, so we can evaluate

  • the outcomes of non-chemical restoration interventions both in 1997-2000 and during this Trial

-the outcomes in areas where observed weed invasions were uncontrolled or incompletely controlled in 1997-2000

  • the occurrence of new weed invasions - which speces, both weed and native, currently occur in the Native Plant Trail (wild regen forest), in the soft-surface bush path through the roadside forest further downstream (bordered on one side by planted native trees and on the other by wild regen streamside forest), and along the margins of both paths.

UPDATE In the area of the Tradescantia Zone defined for this Methodology Trial, ie opposite the Glenfield College tennis courts, Parks have arranged for suspension of spot-spraying of the path for the duration of this Trial.

We have also enjoyed meeting with the Animal Pest Control volunteer on site, and in a subsequent chance meeting on site shared our observations of karo-fruit hoarding:
https://inaturalist.nz/posts/24545-rats-hoarding-karo-and-karaka-fruit

Pestfree Kaipatiki assisted our RENH funding application with general advice, and will be included in reports. We are aware that they have an Animal Pest control programme in Witheford Reserve, and will avoid disturbing any traps or markers we encounter.

  • Kaipatiki Project (KP) was known earlier in its history as "Kaipatiki Ecological Restoration Project" or KERP, an organisation formed in 1997 to restore the site of this current RENH Project. Unable to find suitable available premises for the fulltime office and field operations near the restoration site on Kaipatiki Rd in Glenfield, in late 1999 North Shore City Council provided KERP with a long-term base on the other side of Kaipatiki Bridge and estuary, in Lauderdale Rd and Lauderdale Reserve, Birkdale, where amongst their many activities they provide community education in sustainability and environmental restoration, co-ordinate animal pest control volunteers, host courses and meetings for restoration volunteers and groups, produce locally-ecosourced native plants for restoration projects, and direct site-based restoration projects in Hobsonville, Northcote and elsewhere.

KP also supervise casual (eg annual corporate or overseas visitor groups) volunteers daily, focusing their local hands-on restoration work on the forest surrounding Kaipatiki Stream's Western arm in Eskdale Reserve. Kaipatiki Project retains an interest in the history and well-being of the eastern arm of the stream in Glenfield.

Publicado el viernes, 26 de abril de 2019 a las 04:51 AM por kaipatiki_naturewatch kaipatiki_naturewatch | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

First Progress Report - 3. to identify and mark tree/shrub juveniles for monitoring of control by partial breaking of stems

Some tree privet and Eleagnus were partially broken down during informal survey of the roadside canopy margin in 2018, as an ad hoc intervention to release adjacent juvenile native trees. The results are interesting, and the method has been used, and continues to be closely monitored, at our volunteer trial project site "Gahnia Grove", in Eskdale Reserve.

We have marked with orange tape some of the specimens in Witheford Reserve treated this way in 2018, and added some new examples. The technique has been shown to the Wildlands team manager in anticipation of their annual Ecocontract weed control operation this week. The information was supportively received and we look forward to sharing results of this collaboration.

In an example of similar collaboration, we are pleased to now have documentation of a brush wattle c. 15cm diameter, felled June 2018 in Gahnia Grove by Wildlands without chemicals or further intervention at our request, the stump now demonstrably dead and decaying.
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/21645538

Publicado el viernes, 26 de abril de 2019 a las 04:51 AM por kaipatiki_naturewatch kaipatiki_naturewatch | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario