Invasion ecology of the alien tussock grassNardus stricta(Poaceae) at Lake Pukaki, Canterbury, New Zealand

Declining plant species richness in the tussock grasslands of Canterbury and Otago, South Island, New Zealand

We studied vegetation change on 142 permanently marked transects spread throughout tussock grasslands of Otago and Canterbury, in areas subject to both pastoral and conservation management. The transects were established between 1982 and 1986 and re-measured between 1993 and 1999, providing a record of vegetation change at each site over an interval varying from 10 to 15 years. Each transect co...

Trend in Bare Ground from Tussock Grassland Surveys, Canterbury, New Zealand

Trend in the proportion of bare ground in some Canterbury tussock grasslands is analysed using records of vegetative cover from Fox Peak, South Opuha River (1963-1985); Porter River (1976-1984); Waimakariri Basin (1962-1978); and central Waimakariri River (1947-1981). The overall proportion of bare ground changed little in all four surveys. The lowest altitude site at Fox Peak and a low altitud...

Factors Predisposing Short-tussock Grasslands to Hieracium Invasion in Marlborough, New Zealand

New Zealand Journal of Ecology (1998) 22(2): 121-140 ©New Zealand Ecological Society primarily for wool production, the c. 1 million ha of montane-subalpine short-tussock (Festuca novae-zelandiae) grassland in the subhumid and humid zones have proved particularly susceptible. By 1990 Hieracium species were dominant in about 50% of these grasslands (Hunter, 1991). H. pilosella is well adapted to...

Groundwater Recharge Interface and Nitrate Discharge: Central Canterbury, New Zealand

Regional surveys of groundwater quality in Central Canterbury, from 1977 to the present, show widespread occurrence of nitrate contamination primarily from agricultural land use. Two reported analyses of these surveys, in 1984 and 2002, describe a general decrease of nitrate concentration with depth from the groundwater table to uncontaminated water at about 50-80 m. This high quality water is ...

Ecology of Invasive Alien Invertebrates