It's official: DOC says kauri is a threatened species
Wednesday, 6 June 2018
Kauri is now a threatened species.
The iconic New Zealand native tree has been classified as Threatened - Nationally Vulnerable in a new Department of Conservation report published on June 5.
'This change in status reflects the panel's concern that the spread of kauri dieback continues seemingly unabated and that there is, as yet, no known treatment for infected trees,' it said.
Historic logging had reduced up to 1.7 million hectares of kauri to 7000 hectares, which had heightened the species' vulnerability to factors like disease to which it might have otherwise been buffered.
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'As kauri dieback affects all life stages of kauri and spreads rapidly once it has established within kauri stands, there are now very real fears that kauri may go extinct over large parts of its current range.'
DOC acting director for terrestrial ecosystems Matt Barnett said the report also classified 112 other plants as threatened, bringing the total threatened to 402.
Those classified as at risk had increased by 101 to 851 plants.
'Threats like kauri dieback, browse by possums, goats, rabbits and other animals, and changes in land use, particularly in the eastern South Island, have caused the observed decline of 61 plant species, which are now in a worse state than five years ago,' he said.
Barnett said 80 per cent of native plants were only found in New Zealand, and they were increasingly in trouble
'There has also been a marked deterioration of populations of rare plants, such as sedge, cress and broom species, in the drylands of the Mackenzie and Waitaki basins due to land being modified for agriculture, as well as the impact of rabbits and hares.'
'The effect of the plant disease myrtle rust on New Zealand's 30 or so myrtle species such as pōhutukawa, mānuka, rātā and ramarama, is still unknown but all of these species have been classed as threatened as a precautionary measure.'
The report, Conservation Status of New Zealand Indigenous Vascular Plants 2017, also found 39 plants had improved in status, and another two species had become more abundant.