Plant health - Survey

These are observations whose health, good or bad, is of interest with regard to either the individual, the species, or the location, collected over the whole site
As with other observation sets, only a few have had the required search fields added so far, so these are preliminary results.

We note that death of trees is part of the natural cycle of forest life, and we are observing the rate of decline of individuals in certain species, what part if any a high rate of premature death of trees is currrently playing in a small and fragile forest remnant subject to the many impcts of urbanization.

This particular streamside forest remnant, though already dense and diverse and diversifying further naturally, is currently assessed by this observer as too small to survive without significant intervention, in the ever-increasing public use of the path, stormwater erosion, sewage overflows, incursion of invasive plants from both Reserve and roadside margins and from adjoining private properties, paving and tree felling on private properties, destruction of native canopy by the fall of large pines and wattles higher up the bank, erosion of coastal cliff by stormwater along the rut which has developed during the 20 years of public access via the path crossing this steep slope through particularly diverse forest, continued dumping of household and industrial waste along the roadside, and the instability of steep roadside streambanks built up during road construction and remaining treeless, and the use of herbicides in amenity vegetation control along the paths. The powerful odour of noxious gases from traffic also suggests a degree of air pollution, which may be incompatible with some species.

By zone: Zone Bb, Zone Bc, Zone Bd, Zone Ca, Zone Cb, Zone Cc, Zone Da, Zone Db, Zone Ea, Zone Eb, Zone Fa, Zone Fb

Posted on September 29, 2019 01:41 AM by kaipatiki_naturewatch kaipatiki_naturewatch

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