Dryopteris Filix-Mas (L.) Schott, in Canterbury, New Zealand
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An Investigation into the Habitat Requirements, Invasiveness and Potential Extent of male fern, Dryopteris filix-mas (L.) Schott, in Canterbury, New Zealand A thesis Submitted in partial fulfilment Of the requirements for the Degree of Masters in Forestry Science By Graeme A. Ure School of Forestry University of Canterbury June 2014 Table of Contents Table of Figures ...................................................................................................... v List of Tables ......................................................................................................... xi Abstract ................................................................................................................ xiii Acknowledgements .............................................................................................. xiv 1 Chapter 1 Introduction and Literature Review ............................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Taxonomy and ecology of Dryopteris filix-mas .......................................................... 2 1.2.1 Taxonomic relationships .................................................................................... 2 1.2.2 Life cycle ............................................................................................................... 3 1.2.3 Native distribution .............................................................................................. 4 1.2.4 Native habitat ....................................................................................................... 5 1.2.5 Mycorrhizal associations .................................................................................... 8 1.2.6 New Zealand distribution and habitat.............................................................. 8 1.3 Invasion ecology and D. filix-mas in Canterbury ................................................... 10 1.3.1 Invasion ecology and invasive species............................................................ 10 1.3.2 Darwins naturalisation hypothesis (the importance of relatives) ............... 11 1.3.3 Niche Overlap ................................................................................................... 12 1.3.4 The Rule of Tens ............................................................................................... 13 1.3.5 Propagule pressure and dispersal .................................................................... 14 1.3.6 Disturbance ........................................................................................................ 14 1.4 Thesis goals and approach ....................................................................................... 18 2 Chapter 2 Effects of light environment on growth of D. filix-mas ............... 19 ii 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 19 2.2 Method ........................................................................................................................ 20 2.2.1 Design and establishment ................................................................................ 20 2.2.2 Light levels ......................................................................................................... 22 2.2.3 Wet Pot Weights ................................................................................................ 23 2.2.4 Plant Weights ..................................................................................................... 23 2.2.5 Statistical analyses .............................................................................................. 24 2.3 Results ......................................................................................................................... 25 2.3.1 Losses and Damage .......................................................................................... 25 2.3.2 Photosynthetically Active Radiation in each treatment ............................... 25 2.3.3 Wet pot weight change ..................................................................................... 25 2.3.4 Start weights of rhizomes ................................................................................. 26 2.3.5 rhizome and roots, fresh weight change ........................................................ 28 2.3.6 Whole plant dry weight .................................................................................... 30 2.4 Discussion ................................................................................................................... 31 3 Chapter 3 Male fern habitat preferences in North Canterbury ..................... 35 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 35 3.2 Study Sites ................................................................................................................... 35 3.2.1 Tiromoana Bush ................................................................................................ 36 3.2.2 North Canterbury Foothills and inland sites ................................................. 38 3.3 Methods ...................................................................................................................... 43 3.3.1 Data collection ................................................................................................... 43 3.3.2 Data entry and calculations .............................................................................. 45 3.3.3 Ordination and analysis .................................................................................... 46 3.4 Results ......................................................................................................................... 47 3.4.1 Tiromoana Bush ................................................................................................ 47 iii 3.4.2 North Canterbury foothills and inland sites .................................................. 58 3.5 Discussion ................................................................................................................... 71 4 Chapter 4 National distribution, range of observed habitats and the potential extent within New Zealand using Land Environments New Zealand. 76 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 76 4.2 Method ........................................................................................................................ 76 4.3 Results ......................................................................................................................... 77 4.4 Discussion ................................................................................................................... 84 5 Chapter 5 Summary and Conclusions ........................................................... 90 5.1 Overview ..................................................................................................................... 90 5.2 Habitat requirements in North Canterbury ........................................................... 90 5.3 Invasiveness and potential extent ............................................................................ 91 5.4 Implications ................................................................................................................ 92 5.5 Recommendations ..................................................................................................... 93 6 Appendices .................................................................................................... 95 6.1 Appendix One Male Fern gallery ............................................................................ 96 6.2 Appendix Two Field Data Form ........................................................................... 112 6.3 Appendix Three Land Environments New Zealand attribute table for Level IV environments containing D. filix-mas ................................................................................ 114 6.4 Appendix Four Species list ..................................................................................... 120 7 References .................................................................................................... 128 iv Table of Figures Figure 1.1 Northern Hemisphere distribution of D. filix-mas (reproduced with permission from the Swedish Museum of Natural History website: http://linnaeus.nrm.se/flora/orm/polypodia/dryop/dryofil.html) .................................... 4 Figure 1.2 Confirmed records of D. filix-mas at commencement of this study from Lincoln Herbarium (yellow), NZ Biodiversity Recording Network (green), National Vegetation Survey (blue), literature and personal observation (red). (Base map from Google Earth). .............................................................................................................................. 8 Figure 2.1 Layout of replicates in the study area. A: full exposure, B: single layer of shadecloth, C: double layer of shadecloth, D: triple layer of shadecloth. .......................... 21 Figure 2.2 experiment layout and pot arrangement. View from replicate 8 (near left) to replicate 25 (centre distance) .................................................................................................... 21 Figure 2.3 Replicate groups used to obtain light level measurements