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Results of a major new survey of native New Zealand plants shows a big jump in the number of native plant species under threat.
A survey carried out by a panel of experts for the Department of
Conservation shows six species of plant are now regarded as extinct and
the number of threatened plant species has jumped almost 50 percent to
180 in the past five years.
The survey by the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network (NZPCN) and
New Zealand Botanical Society reveals the number of plants regarded "At
Risk" has also risen from 499 to 651 during the same period.
Department of Conservation scientist Peter de Lange, one of New
Zealand&'s foremost botanists says part of the big jump can be put
down to scientists finding more and more new species of threatened
plants.
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Chatham Island sow thistle |
But he says changing land use patterns especially intensive farming
and draining wetlands, particularly in the drier eastern parts of the
South Island, is also playing a role in the decline in some plants
species.
Peter de Lange says some well known plants - such as the garden
favourite kaka beak which is widely cultivated by nurseries - are at
serious risk in the wild
One species of kaka beak, Clianthus puniceus is down to just a
single known wild plant, while the national population of its close
relative Clianthus maximus has plummeted from 2000 plants in the wild
10 years ago - to just over 150 found in the East Cape region.
"Wily goats and hungry hares are now eating kaka beak almost as fast
as DOC staff can plant it out." de Lange says "For kaka beak its future
now rests on the dedication of a Te Araroa based DOC ranger, and local
people, especially school children who have been planting the species
along roadsides."
"In the past, New Zealanders were largely unaware of issues
affecting plant conservation but pleading ignorance is no excuse now
and for such iconic species as kaka beak, extinction in now inevitable
unless immediate action is taken."
The survey also shows some significant successes in areas like the
Chatham Islands where DOC staff, working with islanders, have
successfully managed to bring four species back from the brink of
extinction.
"The biggest success story from those islands has been the rescue of the unique Chatham Island sow-thistle (Embergeria grandifolia), a massive distant relative of puha that is well known to many New Zealanders."
"This shows what can be done when communities and DOC work together" de Lange said. |
Conservation News 
