TUSSOCK LAND

Lake County Mail, Issue 36, 11 February 1948, Page 2

TUSSOCK LAND

Visitors to Queenstown who have travelled through Central Otago, frequently comment on the country devoid of all growth other than tussock. They wonder how such land can carry sheep. Viewed from a distance the tussock formation appears one vast mass of evenly growing grass. It is however of a much more broken character. Individual tussocks are formed of thick bunches of wiry leaves. Moreover, tussock is not a palatable grass. How, then, do sheep exist in such country? The chief grasses eaten by sheep are the smaller plants and herbs which grow in the shelter of the tussock. The tussock protects these finer species from strong winds and the hot rays of the sun and without such protection they could not grow. It is not uncommon to see extensive burning of tussock under way, for herein lies another source of food for sheep. They will eat the young green shoots which begin to grow. These tussock lands are regarded as climax formation, i.e., it the only vegetation that could grow under existing climatic conditions, the rainfall not being heavy enough to support forest. In some damper areas evidence has been found of forests having existed many years ago but in Central Otago even this is absent.