Editorial

After thirty years of restoration work on pest-free Motutapu, the native forest and the wildlife is thriving.

With the scene set for nature to take over, the ecosystems slowly but surely are restoring. With the presence of native birds, especially kererū, the giants of the forest, the long-lived, fruit bearing trees are spreading by themselves. Nīkau, pigeonwood, karaka, pūriri, tōtara, kohekohe, tawapou, mangeao, putaputaweta, rewarewa and taraire seedlings are popping up by themselves in various parts of the maturing Home Bay Forest.

Some tiny little kahikatea seedlings were seen recently on the forest floor, indicating that some of the adult kahikatea trees, planted by Trust volunteers, are now fruiting on Motutapu. After all the hard work of grounding pioneers followed by final phase species a few years later, seeing nature doing it herself is very rewarding. Hopefully one day other planted, final phase species such as rimu, hīnau, tawa, maire, mataī, tānekaha, kauri, pukatea, swamp maire and titoki will fruit and seedlings will appear in the forest. Native ferns are another plant species that is doing its own thing on Motutapu and has been for many years.

In various parts of the forest, there are many tree ferns, mamaku and ponga as well as small ground-dwelling forest ferns turawera (shaking brake), pukupuku (rasp fern) and mātātā, all of which have regenerated of their own accord. They haven’t been part of the planting programme. This is a gift, as ferns are not easy to propagate. There are a number of big mātātā clumps in some of the island’s wetlands. A new one has recently established by itself, in Home Bay not far from the Red Barn. Ferns are very valuable in restoration as they contribute microbial diversity to soil health, help stabilise habitats from erosion and support other species by diversifying plant communities.

With nature taking over, it is equally important for invasive exotic weed species to be controlled so they don’t inhibit the natural regeneration process. With no mammalian pests, the forest is starting to regenerate itself with birds thriving and spreading the fruit. In addition, tree seeds are no longer eaten by animal pests. All these factors mean that nature can do what it is good at, natural regeneration.