Turfs in turmoil: an evaluation of stock exclusion as a tool for restoring threatened coastal turf communities Thesis
- Author
- Jack Mace
- Year
- 2008
- Publisher / Organisation
- University of Waikato
- Pages
- 22
- Keywords
- turf, weed control, stock exclusion, threatened plants
- Summary
- Coastal turf communities are a nationally rare ecosystem in New Zealand, and are under threat from a combination of factors including increased soil fertility, stock trampling and browsing, and outcompetition by introduced pasture species. This study surveyed vegetation both inside and outside a stock-proof fence established around an area of turf at Stent Rd, Taranaki in 2002. The diversity and frequency of native turf species was higher within the exclosure; however, invasive weeds such as Trifolium repens and Leontodon taraxicoides were also more common and in better condition within the exclosure. Stock exclusion is a valuable tool for the restoration of turf communities but needs to be used in conjunction with weed control techniques to ensure that turf saved from trampling is not smothered beneath weeds.