Kanuka tree on Canterbury Plains

I've been out today, looking at some dryland remnants of native vegetation on the Canterbury Plains. These dryland remnants are small and rare these days, as nearly all of the Canterbury Plains is being irrigated, much of it for dairy pasture. They provide habitat for rare plants, insects, and other small animals that used to be much more widespread through the area than they are now. These remnants need protection to remind us what the Canterbury Plains used to be like before the advent of farming.

This kanuka (Kunzea ericoides) tree is growing beside a track, so may survive, but probably only as an isolated individual, as the ground nearby is not conducive to seedling establishment. There are a very few, small, isolated stands of kanuka woodland in the area, and one of the key factors that will help them survive is protection from irrigation run-off, over-spraying, and accompanying nutrient enrichment. Ironically, there is more recruitment of seedling kanuka this year, when summer rainfall has been higher than usual, but in general, low rainfall and low fertility is necessary for their long-term survival.