Botanist Newsletter

Issue No. 14, November 1997 to Jan 1998

Botanical site assessments of Ecological Heritage Sites are continuing.
The following sites were visited in the last two months:

• EHS 29.04 (remnant bush in Central Barnett Valley, owned by Telecom)
• EHS 12.01 (Riccarton Bush)
• EHS 29.01 (Barnett Valley, true left)
• EHS 32.05 (Godley Head, north side)

A site visit was made to the landfill site between Bottle Lake Forest Park and the dunes. Several uncommon plant species were seen in the vicinity, including turf bogrush (Schoenus concinnus), sand sedge (Carex pumila) and silverweed (Potentilla anerinoides).

These species are quite small and are easily swamped by the willow and pines that are abundant in the area. A report with recommendations on management of the area has been written by Dr Colin Meurk (WSU Report No. 9798/03).

A site visit was made to Natural Area 3.01 (a freshwater wetland) to check its exact location relative to an area that is subject to a resource consent application to the CRC. The Natural Area is near to, but fortunately not overlapping the site subject to the application. Of particular note was the presence there of bog rush (Schoenus pauciflorus) which is not especially common in Canterbury on the plains.

Information was provided to Dr Brian Molloy regarding a resource consent application for forestry in Cashmere Valley (below Marleys hill). The application could effect Natural Areas 21.08, 22.21 and 22.23.

Information was provided to the Parks Unit on Ecological Heritage Site 30.12 (Windsor Castle) to be used when considering an application for subdivision.

Information was also supplied to EPPU regarding EHS 29.01 (Upper Barnett Valley, true left), because a small part of it may be re-zoned residential.

Photographs taken as part of the Ecological Heritage Site monitoring last June were used to assess whether grazing levels are appropriate in Britten Reserve, following a complaint by a member of the public that the site was being overgrazed.

Information was provided to EPPU regarding Ecological Heritage Site 15.21 (Upper Heathcote River) and how it relates to a possible motorway designation in the vicinity.

A site visit was made to Horseshoe Lake along with a mixture of staff from Water Services, Parks and WorksOps. Discussion included weed control (especially of yellow flag), thinning of exotic canopy species (willow and alder), and planting priorities.

Plant identification was carried out, including some for the public (confirmation of boneseed on Palinurus Tce).

Data entry for the Herbarium began. This will start with grass species and so far 50 have been entered (mostly Poa, Bromus and Festuca spp.). Some labels for the herbarium sheets have also been printed onto archive grade paper.

Native species along the river bank between Avondale bridge and Wainoni Rd were marked for WorksOps (contracted to Water Services) so that they could be left when the other weed species were being cut.

Papanui drain, immediately upstream (and north) of Erica Playground was assessed to determine which plant species were present. This was done so that any effect of a proposal to modify the drain might have on them could be taken into account. The native aquatic red pondweed (Potamogeton cheesemanii) was seen.

Photographs of riverbank plants were taken for the Streamside Planting Guide project, for Water Services. About 15 web pages are in draft form. They are based on the existing Streamside Planting Guide pamphlet.

The annual New Zealand Herbarium Curators meeting was held at Landcare. The Christchurch Botanic Gardens Herbarium is one of 14 registered herbaria in New Zealand. A range of topics was discussed including computerisation of records, herbarium resources and costs, the implications of maori claims on indigenous species, insect control, and the access of information via the WWW.

A copy of the report "The State of New Zealands Environment 1997", by the Ministry for the Environment, was purchased. This gives an overview of the environment, including atmosphere, air quality, land, water, and biodiversity. The state of our knowledge regarding these areas is also discussed.

The final draft of the 3 Rivers report for Water Services Unit was completed and is currently being reviewed by several other staff.