200 native plants at risk

Forest and Bird, Issue 294, 1 November 1999, Page 7

200 native plants at risk

ore than 200 native plants face possible extinction, according to the Department of Conservation. A report on threatened native plants estimates some 10 percent of native ‘vascular plants’ are at risk of extinction and sets priorities for saving them. Entitled Conservation Requirements of New Zealand’s Nationally Threatened Vascular Plants, the report lists actions needed to restore populations of 223 of New Zealand’s most threatened plants — some 10 percent of species. Among them are 42 trees and shrubs, 45 herbs, and three lianes and vines. Also threatened are six native grasses, five sedges and four orchids along with five ferns and fern allies. Each threatened species is listed with its general location, form, habitat, and the threats it faces. Often these threats are from grazing by introduced pests, or invasive weeds, but other factors can be as varied as fungal diseases, loss of habitat, and ‘numbers too low for breeding’. Management requirements to improve the chances for 104 of the more threatened plants, suggest that weed control, advocacy and animal control are required, for a total of round 60 plants. Half the species also need legal land protection. ‘Translocation’ will help 44

species; cultivation and propagation will improve the chances for 39 species; population enhancement for 29; and habitat enhancement for 26. The report summarises conservation work on each species undertaken to date, and suggests priority sites for survey, monitoring requirements, desirable research and management. Often the plants are also illustrated to aid recognition by field workers. For the scientifically concerned, there are selected references to publications about the species. The Nelson/Marlborough region has the highest number of ‘high priority threatened plants, some 22, followed by Canterbury (11) and Otago CHL). New Zealand has lost at least 11 plant species since humans arrived in New Zealand. Many more are under threat of extinction, according to the report. which ‘only covers the tip of the iceberg’ of threatened plants. The report states another 10 percent of New Zealand’s 2400 native plants are under some form of threat. Another 20 percent have yet to be fully ‘described’ — or scientifically classified — and ‘some of these will definitely be under threat’. The report ‘doesn’t even touch on "non-vascular" plants like mosses, fungi and lichens, or marine flora, which also face threats.