This page gives a definition of wilding conifers and the measures underway to control them.
Wilding conifers are self sown trees that have spread from research plots, amenity plantings and plantations, usually through windblown seed. The Wilding Conifer Strategy defines 25 species of wilding conifer, but in Canterbury contorta pine, Corsican pine, Douglas fir, radiata pine, larch, Scots pine and mountain pine are most widespread and represent the greatest threat.
Wilding conifers reduce indigenous biodiversity by displacing threatened species, particularly in sensitive environments such as open country. They can also impact on biodiversity through an increased risk of fire and by reducing stream water flows and contributing to the drying up of wetlands in sensitive catchments.
Wilding conifers have other undesirable impacts too. They obscure scenic views, decrease production of pastoral farms and impact on cultural and historic sites.
Addressing the issue of wilding conifers
In 2007, Environment Canterbury, Federated Farmers, Department of Conservation, and Land Information New Zealand entered into a formal agreement to work collaboratively to control wilding conifers.
The agencies agreed to prepare a wilding conifer Strategy, giving emphasis to protecting the landscape, conservation and production values of the Canterbury hill and high country.
The Canterbury Wilding Conifer Strategy 2010-2015 was completed in March 2010. It provides the framework for a coordinated inter-agency approach to wilding conifer control that calls for the use of a number of 'tools', including operational control, education and advocacy, as well as collective responsibility for addressing the problem.
The Strategy is a non-statutory document, intended to be considered alongside other statutory and non-statutory documents and initiatives, such as:
The Wilding Conifer Control Programme
History
Wilding conifers were first recorded in Canterbury during the 1830s, spreading from introduced conifers that were planted to form the basis of the plantation forestry industry during early European settlement.
About 81,288 ha of conifers (Land Cover Database II) have been planted in the Canterbury region mainly for forestry, shelterbelts and erosion control by industry, government agencies and private individuals.
In 2002, there were an estimated 62,000 ha of wilding conifers in the 1.2 million ha Canterbury hill and high country.
For more information on the Wilding Conifer Control Programme can be found here.