If historically there is a star tree species for reforestation and wood production, those are conifers. The pine of all life. We have seen it in the mountains of Galicia, in Euskadi and also in New Zealand. There are no shortage of reasons to choose them: they grow very quickly, they are cheap, they withstand adverse conditions well, they provide versatile wood and their seeds disperse very well.
They fulfill their mission of reforestation. Maybe too well: its seeds have a kind of membranous wings that allows them to fly far with the wind, escaping from the plantations. So much so that in New Zealand the “wild conifers” or “wilding conifers” They are already a national problem.
what’s happening. That conifers originally planted in managed plantations are escaping from those areas and their control, colonizing open landscapes. As details The New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industry, there are already more than 2 million hectares affected. Before they decided to launch a control program, it was even worse: they were expanding at a rate of 90,000 hectares a year.
Why is it important. The fact that there is a pine forest where it shouldn’t brings serious problems:
- They drain the water. The conifer canopy intercepts water before it reaches the ground, so runoff is reduced, aquifers are recharged less, and there is less water in rivers and reservoirs. The estimated loss is up to 40%. And if there is less water in rivers and reservoirs, it can affect the production of electricity with hydroelectric plants.
- They affect biodiversity. The introduced species were not native and their rapid expansion displaces native vegetation in one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet.
- Fires and agricultural production. Its uncontrolled presence reduces the space for agriculture and favors the spread of fires.
Why were they planted? This problem that is bringing the New Zealand government to its head began precisely with government programs of the 60s and 70s. At that time the administration massively planted Pinus radiata, Pseudotsuga menziesii and other exotic species with the aim of reforesting areas, avoiding deforestation and protect the inland highlands .
In fact, The New Zealand Parliament recognized in 2023 how he had sprinkled with seeds by air. And as we have already seen, conifers are the perfect invader: productive, resistant and fast growing. What could go wrong.
The difficult and expensive task of keeping the wild conifer at bay. The oceanic country has been trying to stop wild pines for more than a decade and almost 200 million dollars. In 2015 they approved the strategy against wild conifers with a vision of containment and eradication by 2030 (spoiler: it will not be like that), but the lack of financing has been its endemic evil.
With specific injections like the one in 2020 100 million dollarsframed within a post-pandemic job creation project, then even the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (PCE) of New Zealand has had to write a letter to the president to complain about the lack of means. Without sufficient and sustained funding, the program takes one step forward, another step back: controlled areas are recolonized.
Who should pay? The tricky issue about the matter, which touches on elements as critical as water or electricity production, is that it requires an ambitious and continuous plan over time to be effective.
The PCE points out explicitly to the state, which promoted plantations and aerial seeding, but also points to the logging industry insofar as it has also benefited from these problematic species, posing a possible tax. On the other hand, and as affected are the energy companies, who are as interested as anyone in solving the problem. In fact, the prime minister has already entered into talks.
Cover | Kerin Gedge
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings