News

The 2015 Conference at Whitianga provided several very interesting field trips, including dunes at Whangapoua that had been planted recently following physical earthworks. This involved the use of machinery to remove the predominantly exotic vegetation cover, comprising species such as agapanthus, yucca, and blackberry, as well as the top layer of sand (with the weed seedbank). Replanting was done using spinifex and pingao on the foredune, with wiwi and pōhuehue further back.

However, it is noteworthy that although these sites have been weed-infested, they also nevertheless harbour a relatively diverse range of indigenous plant species, including some species such as Zoysia pauciflora that are now uncommon or even absent from large sections of the New Zealand coast.

One way to avoid the loss of these species from sites where physical works are to be undertaken would be to undertake a pre-works botanical survey to identify the indigenous species present at each particular site.  Plants of interest could then be dug out, stored nearby and then replanted at the site when clearing has been completed.

Full text of article and more photos available here.

Thanks to Sarah Beadel of Wildlands Consultants for this article.

Christchurch’s recent beach erosion was reduced due to 20 years of  dune restoration planting by Coastal Ranger, Jason Roberts.

The earthquakes may have passed but coastal erosion is still with us in Christchurch. If you go down to the beach today, after the recent spectacular stormy seas, you’ll see some significant  dune erosion in places such as at Spencer Park beach, and some fully vegetated and stable dunes in others, such as the pictured South Brighton beach. Same day, different management input.

The first line of defence, and the cheapest insurance policy, against such storms is having healthy functioning and managed sand dune systems in place. The stable dunes pictured at South New Brighton, have a full face of sand binding Spinifex in place, trapping sand and being a natural buffer. Without our history of 20 years of persistent Dune Restoration plantings by the community and facilitated  by committed CCC coastal park rangers such as Jason Roberts, we could well see all our dunes looking like those also still found today just north of Spencer Park, with the 4-5m cut scarp.

Keep up the great work, Jason!

Providing a blueprint for community-based restoration of difficult sand dune sites

The Coastal Restoration Trust has successfully secured funding from the Department of Conservation’s Community Conservation Partnerships Fund in a project that aims to work with local communities and landowners in the Waikato Region to restore severely degraded coastal dunes at difficult sites on both the east and west coasts.

Over the last two decades, significant progress has been made with restoration of degraded sand dunes using community based approaches. However, work has tended to focus on restoration of the more seaward pioneer vegetation (i.e. the spinifex and pingao zone). Achieving and sustaining backdune restoration has been less successful, particularly at severely degraded and difficult sites.

With the support of Sam Stephens, Coastal Site Restoration Advisor of the Waikato Regional Council, this project focuses on:

• Restoration of frontal and backdune environments on two severely degraded dunes on difficult, exposed, high energy dynamic west coast sites. One site is a large farm where stock access has led to serious degradation and wind erosion, with extensive mobile sand areas. The second site is a private camping ground where the natural dunes have been levelled, filled and grassed, with the adjacent shoreline presently experiencing severe wave erosion. The sites are typical of many difficult sites around New Zealand
• Restoration of two severely degraded weed-dominated backdune sites on the east coast of the Coromandel. The sites, dominated by a wide range of dense garden weeds (agapanthus, arctotis, exotic ice plant, various exotic succulents, etc…) are typical of degraded backdune environments at most developed coastal settlements around New Zealand. In addition, the projects will focus on working with adjacent private landowners who are essential in the successful restoration of these areas for a wide range of reasons.
• Production of a “best practice” guide for restoration of difficult sites based on these projects and other knowledge gained around New Zealand. These will provide detailed guidelines on all elements relevant to successful restoration of difficult sites, including landowner involvement, site preparation, species selection, implementation, monitoring, maintenance and costs.

Examples of difficult sites for restoration of indigenous biodiversity in the Waikato region that will be amongst the sites used to develop best practice guidelines – weed infested Cooks Beach, eastern Coromandel (top) and exposed dynamic dunes near Ruapuke, west coast (bottom).

The project will run over the next three years and deliver four “flagship” examples and detailed best practice guidelines to actively encourage and guide transformative dune restoration at similar difficult sites around New Zealand. For more information on this project please contact Coastal Restoration Trust Project Manager Jim Dahm ([Enable JavaScript to view protected content]).

Development of a literature/reference database to store and maintain coastal dune ecosystem information

We are about half way through this project funded by the Terrestrial and Freshwater Biodiversity Information System (TFBIS) Programme which is funded to improve the conservation of New Zealand’s indigenous biodiversity by increasing awareness of, and access to, fundamental data and information about biota and biodiversity. The Department of Conservation administers the TFBIS Programme, on behalf of all agencies and organisations that contribute to the management of New Zealand’s indigenous biodiversity.

In the development of a reference database on coastal dune restoration and management we are now planning the design and build of a database system that can be accessed by those interested in sourcing these references via the Coastal Restoration Trust website with links to other websites of collaborating agencies and interest groups. The aim is to develop an easy-to-use search engine system for those wanting access to historical and latest information relevant to coastal dune restoration, including Coast Care groups, council and government department staff, students and the general public.

Over 2000 references and links have been collated to date involving interrogation of various sources for the existence and location of pdf copies or physical copies held by various agencies and individuals, including the Coastal Restoration Trust, trustees and their organisations, selected consultants, councils and coast care groups involved in the project to date. Hard copies have been scanned as necessary and entered into a primary database.

It is planned to have the coastal reference database available on the Coastal Restoration Trust website by mid-2015. For more information on this project please contact Coastal Restoration Trust Project Manager Justin Cope ([Enable JavaScript to view protected content]) or Coastal Restoration Trust trustee David Bergin ([Enable JavaScript to view protected content]).

This update provided by David Bergin

This year’s Quinovic Study Award recipient Michael Fake has also been busy analysing his drone generated pictures. The work forms part of a wider project led by the Department of Conservation (DOC), who are interested in the potential application of aerial drones for the continued monitoring and management of important conservation areas around New Zealand. Dune systems have been highlighted as being of good potential for the testing of this technology as dune systems are typically smaller than other conservation areas, have a simple topography and exhibit clear zonation in vegetation.

In particular, DOC are interested in the potential for aerial drone survey data to provide such information as: up-to-date vegetation classifications for the identification and monitoring of important species, the detection of non-target species impacts from spraying operation, and the characterisation of species’ habitats within the dune system. This work focuses solely on two important coastal dune systems; Kaitorete Spit, a large barrier beach system which lies south of Banks Peninsula in Canterbury, South Island, and Ocean Beach, an important dune system within the protective boundaries of the Cape Sanctuary near Cape Kidnappers in the Hawke’s Bay of the North Island. Both areas are important both ecologically and culturally, yet both are also at risk from anthropogenic activity, namely on-going agricultural and recreational activities in the area.

Read more about this here.

Photos shows a 3D model of a section of Kaitorete Spit, coloured for species identification.

A red-billed gull survey is being held this summer and you can get involved.

This is a species in decline and the last national census was completed in 1964 (i.e. 50 years ago)! We need up to date information on the location of current breeding colonies.

Red-billed gulls should be in full breeding mode at present with birds on nests with eggs or chicks. Now is a great time to locate nesting sites (i.e. look out for birds dive bombing and crapping on you as evidence of breeding!)

Further information about this survey can be found in the link below.

http://osnz.org.nz/node/538