Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T09:08:56.441Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 12 - A garden at the edge of the world; the diversity and conservation status of the New Zealand flora

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2014

By
Carlos A. Lehnebach
Edited by
Adam Stow ,
Norman Maclean  and
Gregory I. Holwell
Carlos A. Lehnebach
Affiliation:
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Adam Stow
Affiliation:
Macquarie University, Sydney
Norman Maclean
Affiliation:
University of Southampton
Gregory I. Holwell
Affiliation:
University of Auckland
Get access

Summary

Summary

After drifting away from Gondawana, the land that we presently know as New Zealand went through several geological events such as the Oligocene drowning, the upheaval of the Southern Alps and several glacial–interglacial periods. These events have dramatically shaped New Zealand’s flora and fauna, causing the extinction of some lineages but also promoting speciation and ecological diversification in others. Nowadays, the New Zealand vascular flora includes over 2230 species; most of them endemic (c.  80%). Despite being one of the last places on the world to be reached by people, damage to its native flora and fauna has been significant. Currently, over 38% of the native vascular flora is of conservation concern and six species became extinct. The main threats to New Zealand plants are habitat destruction, herbivory, competition from weeds and the disruption of ecological interactions. Birds are important pollinators and seed dispersers in New Zealand so a decline in their number, caused by the introduction of mammalian predators, has severely damaged plant–bird interactions and the effects of reproduction and dispersal failure are already being noticed. The spread of introduced plant pathogens is also a threat to native plants and their effect on native trees, in particular, is a matter of current concern. Preservation of New Zealand’s flora is a matter of national and international relevance and many initiatives are working towards this goal. Examples include: habitat protection and restoration, conservation by cultivation, and establishment of seed banks. Future research, however, should focus on the autoecology of threatened plants, particularly in those species that depend on mutualistic interactions. This research will help to maximise resources allocated to their conservation and secure their survival and functioning in the long term.

Origin of New Zealand flora

Type
Chapter
Information
Austral Ark
The State of Wildlife in Australia and New Zealand
 , pp. 240 - 258
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2014

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, R. 1986. Keas for keeps. Forest and Bird 17: 2–5.Google Scholar
Anderson, S. H.; Kelly, D.; Ladley, J. J.; Mollow, S. and Terry, J.. 2011. Cascading effects of bird functional extinction reduce pollination and plant density. Science 331: 1068–1070.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Armstrong, T. J. B. 2003. Hybridisation and adaptive radiation in Australian alpine Ranunculus. PhD thesis. Australian National University. Australia.
Atkinson, I. A. E.; Campbell, D. J.; Fitzgerald, B. M.; Flux, J. E. C. and Meads, M. J.. 1995. Possums and Possum Control; Effects on Lowland Forest Ecosystems: A Literature Review with Specific Reference to the Use of 1080. Department of Conservation, Wellington. New Zealand.Google Scholar
Black, J. 2008. The creature crisis. The Listener 4: 24–28.Google Scholar
Breitwieser, I.; Glenny, D. S.; Thorne, A. and Wagstaff, S. J.. 1999. Phylogenetic relationships in Australasian Gnaphalieae (Compositae) inferred from ITS sequences. New Zealand Journal of Botany 37: 399–412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Breitwieser, I.; Brownsey, P. J; Garnock-Jones, P. J.; Perrie, L. R. and Wilton, A. D.. 2012. Phylum Tracheophyta: vascular plants. In: New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity. Gordon, D. P. (Ed.). Canterbury University Press. Christchurch.Google Scholar
Brownsey, P. J.; Ewans, R.; Rance, B.; Walls, S. and Perrie, L. R.. 2013. A review of the fern genus Sticherus (Gleicheniaceae) in New Zealand with confirmation of two new species records. New Zealand Journal of Botany 51: 104–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, S. 2011. Risk Analysis of the Puccinia psidii/Guava Rust Fungal Complex (Including Uredo rangelii/Myrtle Rust) on Nursery Stock. Biosecurity Risk Analyses Group; Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Wellington. New Zealand.Google Scholar
Clout, M. N. 2006. Keystone Aliens? The multiple impacts of brushtail possums. In: Allen, R. B. and Lee, W. G. (Eds.) Biological Invasions in New Zealand. Ecological Studies 186: 265–279.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Craig, J.; Anderson, S.; Clout, M.; et al. 2000. Conservation issues in New Zealand. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 31: 61–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cunningham, J. M. 1948. Number of keas. New Zealand Bird Notes 2: 154.Google Scholar
Dawson, J. and Lucas, R.. 2011. New Zealand’s Native Trees. Craig Potton Publishing, Nelson. New Zealand.Google Scholar
de Lange, P. and Jones, C.. 2000. Shrubby tororaro (Muehlenbeckia astonii Petrie) recovery plan 2000–2010. Threatened Species Recovery Plan 31. Biodiversity Recovery Unit, Department of Conservation. Wellington.
de Lange, P. and Silbery, T.. 1993. Saving the shrubby tororaro (Muehlenbeckia astonii Petrie) – an urban approach to threatened plant conservation. In: Oates, M. (Ed.) People, Plants and Conservations: Botanic Gardens into the 21st Century, Christchurch, Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture.Google Scholar
de Lange, P.; Crowcroft, G. M. and Forester, L. J.. 1991. Thelymitra “Ahipara” and Endangered Orchid Transferred, Notes on its Taxonomic Status, Distribution and Ecology. Science and Research Internal Report No. 113. Department of Conservation. Wellington. New Zealand.Google Scholar
de Lange, P.; Rolfe, J.; St. George, I. and Sawyer, J.. 2007. Wild Orchids of the Lower North Island. Department of Conservation, Wellington. New Zealand.Google Scholar
de Lange, P.; Norton, D. A.; Courtney, S. P.; et al. 2009. Threatened and uncommon plants of New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 47: 61–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Lange, P.; Heenan, P.; Norton, D.; Rolfe, J. and Sawyer, J.. 2010. Threatened Plants of New Zealand. Christchurch: Canterbury Press.Google Scholar
Ford, K. A.; Ward, J. M.; Smissen, R. D.; Wagstaff, S. J. and Breitwieser, I.. 2007. Phylogeny and biogeography of Craspedia (Asteraceae: Gnaphalieae) based on ITS, ETS and psbA-trnH sequence data. Taxon 56: 783–794.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frericks, J. and Lehnebach, C. A.. 2013. Growing native terrestrial orchids from seed; the first steps towards orchid conservation in New Zealand. Trilepidea 117: 3–5.Google Scholar
Gibbs, G. 2006. Ghosts of Gondwana. The History of the Life in New Zealand. Craig Potton Publishing, Nelson. New Zealand.Google Scholar
Given, D. R. 1981. Rare and Endangered Plants of New Zealand. Reed, Wellington.Google Scholar
Gough, K.; Hargreaves, C.; Steward, G.; et al. 2012. Micropropagation of kauri (Agathis australis (D.Don.(Lindl.): in vitro stimulation of shoot and root development and the effect of rooting hormone application method. New Zealand Journal of Forestry Sciences 42: 107–116.Google Scholar
Howell, C. J. 2008. Consolidated List of Environmental Weeds in New Zealand. Science & Technical Publishing, Department of Conservation. Wellington.Google Scholar
Hunt, J. 2007. Wetlands of New Zealand: A Bitter-sweet Story. Random House, Auckland.Google Scholar
Innes, J.; Kelly, D.; Overton, J. M. and Gillies, C.. 2010. Predation and other factors currently limiting New Zealand forest birds. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 34: 86–114.Google Scholar
IUCN. 2013. IUCN Red list of Threatened Species. Version 2013.1 (accessed 10 July 2013)
Kadereit, G.; Gotzek, D.; Jacobs, S. and Freitag, H.. 2005. Origin and age of Australian Chenopodiaceae. Organisms, Diversity and Evolution 5: 59–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, D., Ladley, J. J., Robertson, A. W.; et al. 2010. Mutualisms with the wreckage of an avifauna: the status of bird pollination and fruit dispersal in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 34: 65–85.Google Scholar
King, C. M. 2005. The Handbook of New Zealand Mammals. Oxford University Press, Auckland. New Zealand.Google Scholar
Knapp, M.; Stöckler, K.; Havell, D.; Delsuc, F.; Sebastiani, F. and Lockhart, P. J.. 2005. Relaxed molecular clock provides evidence for long-distance dispersal of Nothofagus (Southern Beech). PLoS Biology 3: e14. .CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krull, C. R.; Burns, B. R.; Choquenot, D. and Stanley, M. C.. 2013. Feral pigs in a temperate rainforest ecosystem: disturbance and ecological impacts. Biological Invasions. .CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lehnebach, C. 2008. Phylogenetic affinities, species delimitation and adaptive radiation of New Zealand Ranunculus: PhD thesis. Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
Lehnebach, C. A. 2012. Two new species of forget-me-nots (Myosotis, Boraginaceae) from New Zealand. PhytoKeys 16: 53–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Linder, H. P. 2008. Plant species radiations: where, when, why?Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 363: 3097–3105.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lockhart, P.; McLechnanan, P. A.; Havell, D.; et al. 2001. Phylogeny, dispersal and radiation of New Zealand alpine buttercups: molecular evidence under split decomposition. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 88: 458–477.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mark, A. F. 2012. Above the Treeline: A Nature Guide to Alpine New Zealand. Craig Potton Publishing. Nelson, New Zealand.Google Scholar
McGlone, M. S.; Duncan, R. P. and Heenan, P. B.. 2001. Endemism, species selection and the origin and distribution of the vascular plant flora of New Zealand. Journal of Biogeography 28: 199–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McWethya, D. B.; Whitlock, C.; Wilmshurst, J. M.; et al. 2010. Rapid landscape transformation in South Island, New Zealand, following initial Polynesian settlement. PNAS 107: 21 343–21 348.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meudt, H. M. and Bayley, M. J.. 2008. Phylogeographic patterns in the Australasian genus Chionohebe (Veronica s.l., Plantaginaceae) based on AFLP and chloroplast DNA sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 47: 319–338.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ministry for the Environment. 2010. Land Use Environmental Snapshot. INFO 472. Ministry for the Environment. Wellington ().Google Scholar
Mummenhoff, K. and Franzke, A.. 2007. Gone with the bird: late tertiary and quaternary intercontinental long-distance dispersal and allopolyploidization in plants. Systematics and Biodiversity 5(3): 255–260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Myers, N.; Mittermeier, R. A.; Mittermeier, C. G.; da Fonseca, G. A. B. and Kent, J.. 2000. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403: 853–858.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nicol, R. and Overmars, F. B. 2008. Vegetation and Flora Baseline Survey – Whareatea Mine Access Road, L and M Coal Ltd Escarpment Mine Project, Denniston Plateau. Prepared for Resource and Environmental Management Ltd.
Perry, G. L. W.; Wilmshurst, J. M.; McGlone, M. S. and Napier, A.. 2012. Reconstructing spatial vulnerability to forest loss by fire in pre-historic New Zealand. Global Ecology and Biogeography 21: 1029–1041.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prebble, J. M., Meudt, H. M. and Garnock-Jones, P. J.. 2012. An expanded molecular phylogeny of the southern bluebells (Wahlenbergia, Campanulaceae) from Australia and New Zealand. Australian Systematic Botany 25:11–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raven, P. H. 1973. Evolution of the subalpine and alpine plant groups in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 11: 177–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robertson, A. W.; Ladley, J. J; Kelly, D.; et al. 2008. Pollination and fruit-dispersal limitation in Fuchsia excorticata (Onagraceae) on the New Zealand mainland. New Zealand Journal of Botany 46: 299–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roy, B.; Popay, I.; Champion, P.; James, T. and Rahman, A.. 2004. An Illustrated Guide to Common Weeds of New Zealand. 2nd edition. New Zealand Plant Protection Society (Inc).Google Scholar
Schuster, T. M.; Setaro, S. D. and Kron, K. A.. 2013. Age estimates for the buckwheat family Polygonaceae based on sequence data calibrated by fossils and with a focus on the amphi-Pacific Muehlenbeckia. PLoS ONE 8: e61261.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Statistics New Zealand. 2009. Measuring New Zealand’s Progress Using Sustainable Development Approach: 2008. Statistics New Zealand. Wellington.Google Scholar
Steward, G. A. and Beveridge, E.. 2010. A review of New Zealand kauri (Agathis australis (D.Don (Lindl.): its ecology, history, growth and potential for management for timber. New Zealand Journal of Forestry Science 40: 33–59.Google Scholar
Stöckler, K.; Daniel, I. L. and Lockhart, P. J.. 2002. New Zealand Kauri (Agathis australis (D.Don) Lindl., Araucariaceae) survives Oligocene drowning. Systematic Biology 51: 827–832.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Than, D. J.; Hughes, K. J. D.; Boonhan, N.; et al. 2013. A TaqMan real-time PCR assay for the detection of Phytophthora ‘taxon Agathis’ in soil, pathogen of kauri in New Zealand. Forest Pathology 43: 324–330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wagstaff, S. J. and Dawson, M. A.. 2000. Classification, origin, and patterns of diversification of Corynocarpus (Corynocarpaceae) inferred from DNA sequences. Systematic Botany 25: 134–149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wagstaff, S. J.; Bayly, M. J.; Garnock-Jones, P. J. and Albach, D. C.. 2002. Classification, origin and diversification of the New Zealand hebes (Scrophulariaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 89:38–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wanntorp, L. and Wanntorp, H.. 2003. The biogeography of Gunnera L.: vicariance and dispersal. Journal of Biogeography 30: 979–987.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warburton, B.; Cowan, P. and Shepherd, J.. 2009. How Many Possums are now in New Zealand Following Control and How Many Would it be Without? Landcare Research Contract Report LC0910/060. Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd.Google Scholar
Wardle, P. 1991. Vegetation of New Zealand. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.Google Scholar
Winkworth, R. C.; Grau, J.; Robertson, A. W. and Lockhart, P. J.. 2002a. The origins and evolution of the genus Myosotis L. (Boraginaceae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 24: 180–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winkworth, R. C; Wagstaff, S. J.; Glenny, D. and Lockhart, P. J.. 2002b. Plant dispersal N.E.W.S. from New Zealand. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 17: 514–520.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wotton, D. M. and Kelly, D.. 2011. Frugivore loss limits recruitment of large-seeded trees. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 278: 3345–3354.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Young, L. M.; Kelly, D. and Nelson, X. J.. 2012. Alpine flora may depend on declining frugivorous parrot for seed dispersal. Biological Conservation 147: 133–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×