Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 A separate creation: diversity, distinctiveness and conservation of Australian wildlife
- Chapter 2 New Zealand – a land apart
- Chapter 3 The ecological consequences of habitat loss and fragmentation in New Zealand and Australia
- Chapter 4 The impacts of climate change on Australian and New Zealand flora and fauna
- Chapter 5 Unwelcome and unpredictable: the sorry saga of cane toads in Australia
- Chapter 6 Invasive plants and invaded ecosystems in Australia: implications for biodiversity
- Chapter 7 Environmental weeds in New Zealand: impacts and management
- Chapter 8 The insidious threat of invasive invertebrates
- Chapter 9 Pollution by antibiotics and resistance genes: dissemination into Australian wildlife
- Chapter 10 Invasive vertebrates in Australia and New Zealand
- Chapter 11 Freshwaters in New Zealand
- Chapter 12 A garden at the edge of the world; the diversity and conservation status of the New Zealand flora
- Chapter 13 The evolutionary history of the Australian flora and its relevance to biodiversity conservation
- Chapter 14 Protecting the small majority: insect conservation in Australia and New Zealand
- Chapter 15 Terrestrial mammal diversity, conservation and management in Australia
- Chapter 16 Marine mammals, back from the brink? Contemporary conservation issues
- Chapter 17 Australian reptiles and their conservation
- Chapter 18 New Zealand reptiles and their conservation
- Chapter 19 Isolation, invasion and innovation: forces of change in the conservation of New Zealand birds
- Chapter 20 Australian birds: current status and future prospects
- Chapter 21 Austral amphibians – Gondwanan relicts in peril
- Chapter 22 Predators in danger: shark conservation and management in Australia, New Zealand and their neighbours
- Chapter 23 ‘Ragged mountain ranges, droughts and flooding rains’: the evolutionary history and conservation of Australian freshwater fishes
- Chapter 24 Down under Down Under: Austral groundwater life
- Chapter 25 Fire and biodiversity in Australia
- Chapter 26 Terrestrial protected areas of Australia
- Chapter 27 Australian marine protected areas
- Chapter 28 Marine reserves in New Zealand: ecological responses to protection and network design
- Chapter 29 Conclusion: conservation onboard Austral Ark needs all hands on deck
- Index
- Plate section
- References
Chapter 7 - Environmental weeds in New Zealand: impacts and management
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 November 2014
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 A separate creation: diversity, distinctiveness and conservation of Australian wildlife
- Chapter 2 New Zealand – a land apart
- Chapter 3 The ecological consequences of habitat loss and fragmentation in New Zealand and Australia
- Chapter 4 The impacts of climate change on Australian and New Zealand flora and fauna
- Chapter 5 Unwelcome and unpredictable: the sorry saga of cane toads in Australia
- Chapter 6 Invasive plants and invaded ecosystems in Australia: implications for biodiversity
- Chapter 7 Environmental weeds in New Zealand: impacts and management
- Chapter 8 The insidious threat of invasive invertebrates
- Chapter 9 Pollution by antibiotics and resistance genes: dissemination into Australian wildlife
- Chapter 10 Invasive vertebrates in Australia and New Zealand
- Chapter 11 Freshwaters in New Zealand
- Chapter 12 A garden at the edge of the world; the diversity and conservation status of the New Zealand flora
- Chapter 13 The evolutionary history of the Australian flora and its relevance to biodiversity conservation
- Chapter 14 Protecting the small majority: insect conservation in Australia and New Zealand
- Chapter 15 Terrestrial mammal diversity, conservation and management in Australia
- Chapter 16 Marine mammals, back from the brink? Contemporary conservation issues
- Chapter 17 Australian reptiles and their conservation
- Chapter 18 New Zealand reptiles and their conservation
- Chapter 19 Isolation, invasion and innovation: forces of change in the conservation of New Zealand birds
- Chapter 20 Australian birds: current status and future prospects
- Chapter 21 Austral amphibians – Gondwanan relicts in peril
- Chapter 22 Predators in danger: shark conservation and management in Australia, New Zealand and their neighbours
- Chapter 23 ‘Ragged mountain ranges, droughts and flooding rains’: the evolutionary history and conservation of Australian freshwater fishes
- Chapter 24 Down under Down Under: Austral groundwater life
- Chapter 25 Fire and biodiversity in Australia
- Chapter 26 Terrestrial protected areas of Australia
- Chapter 27 Australian marine protected areas
- Chapter 28 Marine reserves in New Zealand: ecological responses to protection and network design
- Chapter 29 Conclusion: conservation onboard Austral Ark needs all hands on deck
- Index
- Plate section
- References
Summary
Summary
More than 25 000 plant species have been introduced to New Zealand, with 8.5% of those having naturalised so far, and an additional 20 species estimated to naturalise each year. Two-thirds of naturalised species were introduced as garden plants. The number of recognised environmental weeds in New Zealand has almost reached 400 species. Empirical impact data exists for less than 5% of our current environmental weeds, and these are almost all widespread or locally dominant species. The research that does exist has demonstrated a variety of negative impacts, ranging from reduced native species diversity, to altered nutrient regimes. However, management of weeds is more cost effective in the early stages of weed invasion, and there is rarely empirical impact research available at these stages of invasion. While it is not feasible to conduct empirical research on the impacts of all environmental weeds in New Zealand, the development of a comprehensive framework that evaluates known impacts would help inform timely weed management decisions.
Introduction
New Zealand currently has a native vascular flora of 2158 species (de Lange et al. 2006), although human-mediated additions have substantially increased New Zealand’s total flora. Maori transported the first non-native plant species (estimated to be <10 spp.) to New Zealand during their immigration from the Pacific Islands around 1280 ad (Williams & Cameron 2006; Wilmshurst et al. 2008). European colonisation in the nineteenth century resulted in many more plant introductions, currently considered to be approximately 25 049 species (Diez et al. 2009). An estimated 2136 of these introduced species have naturalised (sensu Falk-Petersen et al. 2006; Diez et al. 2009), almost equalling the number of native vascular plant species (Howell 2008). Furthermore, at least 66% of these naturalised plant species were originally introduced to New Zealand as garden plants (Howell 2008). Since 1950, around 20 additional plant species per year have naturalised from the existing pool of introduced species (Howell 2008) and some of these naturalised species then go on to become invasive, expanding their demographic and geographic range (Figure 7.1; Falk-Petersen et al. 2006).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Austral ArkThe State of Wildlife in Australia and New Zealand, pp. 134 - 161Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2014
References
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