Vegetation succession associated with wilding conifer removal

Abstract

Techniques used to remove unwanted wilding conifers can impact on subsequent vegetation successions. Five South Island sites were assessed for vegetation successions after conifers had been removed by four methods, felled to waste, mulched, harvested or killed standing by stem poisoning. Felled conifers created a flush of vigorous plant growth, but this increase was not long-lasting, and the end result was reduced plant biodiversity. Mulching reduced all plant cover initially, but gave poor wilding control. Harvesting led to a dominance of exotics including wildings, whereas solely native plants were found under dead standing trees that had been poisoned. Results indicated that, while there were differences in vegetation composition between the low and high altitude sites, there are good opportunities for manipulating wilding control towards more desirable vegetation covers - particularly involving native plants.