Advocating for Nature Conservation in New Zealand: Is There a Dilemma? Alan F
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The 2015 Banks Memorial Lecture: Advocating for nature conservation in New Zealand: Is there a dilemma? Alan F. Mark1 Introduction Island; the second the two largest much later, was that the large above- Given the many issues in nature lakes in Fiordland and the major ground snow tussock biomass (of up conservation that I have been involved gateway to New Zealand’s most to 8.7 kg m-2) had been accumulated with as an aspect of my professional prestigious national park. over several years and was not the career as an academic plant ecologist annual production. Nor would he There were many other conservation over more than half a century, and have appreciated (as distinguished issues along the way that I became despite many successes, it has botanist Lucy Moore emphasised in involved with, by invitation or by my become apparent over time that there the mid-1950s) that the tussocks are own initiative. These issues included are inherent dilemmas which must very long-lived, rivalling our oldest the South-West New Zealand World be accepted. For me there were two trees. I have even claimed the snow Heritage Area proposal, the Lake major research fields, both inherently tussocks are ‘potentially immortal’ and Sumner damming proposal and the controversial. The first involved my if this is debated, my challenge is to Denniston Plateau open-cast coal main research field of investigating ‘find a dead one in a healthy tussock mining proposal, through the Forest the pure and applied ecology of the stand’: they’re rarely if ever present! and Bird Protection Society, and upper South Island tussock grassland high They function like a perpetual motion Clutha Hydro-electric development as country. This research began with my machine. These features would justify a member of the Otago Catchment MSc ecological study of Maungatua recognition of our upland snow tussock Board. Involvement with the Aramoana (a 980 m altitude range near Dunedin) grasslands as ‘old-growth indigenous salt marsh/aluminium smelter in the mid-1950s, with an objective of grasslands’ such as recently proposed proposal, proposed logging of the defining their sustainable management for ‘the world’s ancient grass- Waitutu forest sequence, the open- from a runholder perspective. The dominated biomes’ in North and South cast coal mining proposal in North second I refer to as a diversion since, America and Africa. Westland’s Happy Valley (Cypress immersed in the high country research, mine), the Nevis Valley hydro-electric So from the earliest days of high I was requested in 1969, by the development proposal and formation country farming, which involved New Zealand Electricity Department of the Wise Response Society were traditional practices of extensive (via the DSIR Botany Division) to exercised more or less on my own grazing with mostly merino sheep undertake an ecological study to behalf, but all with other like-minded and periodic large-scale burning, and describe the shoreline features of Lake concerned participants. negligible post-burn spelling (partly Manapouri in Fiordland National Park through inadequate fencing) there was ahead of government’s proposed lake Each of these had their distinctive yet concern with the obvious degradation. raising (by up to 26 m; the level of often similar aspects, as I will discuss The botanist/artist John Buchanan Lake Te Anau, upstream). The highly in turn, and some (but not all) were was one of the first to record his controversial nature of this proposal associated with a range of dilemmas concerns, noting in 1868 that “nothing only became obvious to me over time. or ‘brick-bats’, not all necessarily can show greater ignorance of grass obvious at the outset. One either Both of these issues introduced conservation than repeated burning adjusts and copes with these or seeks me to the field of ‘ecopolitics’: one which is so frequently practiced.” an alternative vocation. These aspects aspect involving recommending However, nothing really changed and will be discussed together at the end of changes to a highly traditional by 1910 agriculturist Alfred Cockayne this article. method of pastoral farming in order and others reported on problems to address obvious land degradation South Island pastoral high country caused by burning. Distinguished and attempt to achieve sustainable management: effects of burning plant ecologist Leonard Cockayne management of the high country; the and grazing reported that indiscriminate burning second contesting the aspirations The comments of early surveyor had turned areas of tussock grassland of government politicians and Charles Kettle when he looked inland “into stony debris”. Lease conditions senior engineering staff in two large from Maungatua in 1847 were typical were modified to give greater security government departments, Electricity of many: the extensive grasslands to the runholders (Fig. 1) but to little and the Ministry of Works and to the west looked highly suitable for avail. Furthermore, the Tussock Development. The first implicated grazing purposes. But what he didn’t Grasslands Research Committee of some 20% of the area of the South know, and which was only revealed senior government ecologists reported 1 Department of Botany, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand; [email protected] 18 New Zealand Garden Journal, 2015, Vol. 18(1) in 1954, based only on observations (Fig. 2A–C), that the upland snow tussocklands lacked regenerating tussocks and were assumed to be relic, out of phase with the prevailing climate, and pastoral farming was merely hastening the inevitable demise of these grasslands. Fig. 3 Eastern slope of the central Old Man Range, Central Otago, showing the major vegetation zones in relation to patterns of measured annual precipitation and mean air temperature. But there had been no detailed studies of the dominant tussock grasses. These began with Kevin O’Connor of Lincoln and me, funded by the Hellaby Indigenous Grasslands Research Trust, in Otago. These studies, however (Fig. 3), showed that the A tussocks were highly adapted to their Fig. 1 Map showing the outline of the South environments, even with local ecotypes Island high country (purple) in relation to adapted to a particular elevation the western (red) and eastern (green) major on the mountainside, so that their regions of the South Island. High country lessees have rights to the pasturage, quiet irregular flowering was synchronous occupation of the land, trespass protection across a mountainside and related to and renewal of the 33 year lease upon expiry; relatively warm summer temperatures their privileges are to burn, cultivate, plant at a particular elevation (Fig. 4A–B). trees, fence, change stocking rates, etc. They also showed tolerance, even B adaptation to periodic burning, but post-burn grazing was a different story Snow tussock reciprocal transplant. Fig. 4 (Fig. 5). While the snow tussocks were A, ‘top garden’ on the crest (1590 m) of the Old Man Range. Portions of the same 20 recovering from a fire their new foliage tussocks from each of (left to right) Old Man was nutrient-rich and very palatable, 1590 m, 1220 m, 910 m and Maungatua but extremely vulnerable to heavy 850 m, were planted at each of these four grazing over these first 1–2 years of sites, as well as in the Botany Garden, in Dunedin (10 m). B, the same snow tussocks regrowth. This lack of tolerance of A four years after transplanting to Dunedin, heavy post-burn grazing by sheep (or showing the prolific flowering of plants of all cattle) is perhaps not surprising since populations at this low-altitude site. New Zealand ecosystems evolved with the absence of mammalian grazing. The runholders’ apparent ignorance of this aspect seemed to be the main reason for the widespread degradation of the upland snow tussocklands under B pastoral farming. It seemed traditions died hard among some runholders and as a consequence they contested my results and recommendations. Fig. 5 Study site at 1220 m, Old Man Range, showing various treatments, some separated Tussock grasslands and water by a firebreak (A) built in 1961: unburnt since c. 1945 and grazed (B & D); unburnt production since 1945 and ungrazed since 1961 (inside Some runholders tried hard to C exclosure) (C); burnt 1961 & 1992 and heavily undermine my credibility with grazed after 1992 fire (note the sparse snow Fig. 2 Examples of rangeland degradation. the sustainable management tussock and numerous smaller tussocks of A, Molesworth. B, Craigieburn Mountains. unpalatable Festuca matthewsii) (E & F). recommendations of post-burn spelling C, Garvie Mountains. New Zealand Garden Journal, 2015, Vol. 18(1) 19 based on these studies and even or two but when they lost interest more so, our findings on water yield my proposal was given serious from these upland snow tussocklands. consideration and I visited the area We found from two student projects with Reserves Ranger Colin Bassett over more than ten years that the who undertook to proceed with the unmodified tall snow tussocks proposal. Meanwhile I had discussed maximised water production on the it with two adjoining neighbours, eastern Otago uplands compared with A Archie Reid of the Allendale Run any alternative cover, even bare soil. to the west and his brother Ken Our use of small tanks, lysimeters, Reid of Horsehoof to the east. Their containing single tussocks or other father had been the first lessee on types of cover (Figs. 6A–B), meant Maungatua and all had a real affection we could have adequate replicates at for the area. Both Archie and Ken each of the seven sites we studied, were interested in contributing to the ranging from 490 m on the Lammerlaw proposal, Archie the remainder of the Range to 1340 m on the upper slopes B crest, including many cushion bogs of the Rock and Pillar Range.