Forests & Biodiversity
Cascading effects from climate change are impacting our native plants, animals, and their habitats.
The forests of Aotearoa New Zealand are of great importance to our national identity. They are home to many of our native birds, insects, and other plants and animals only found here. They are also places of peace, solitude and recreation. It is in forests where we seek fresh air and sustenance, including rongoā Māori (healing) and kai (food).
Changes to our climate are having an impact here too. Though some of these changes can be hard to notice, they could have big effects. Changes in temperature and rainfall will alter growing seasons, flowering times, where species can live, and many other parts of our forests.
One example linked to warmer summer temperatures is the increased frequency of beech mast events. This is where beech trees produce a load of seeds, usually every 2-6 years, which then provide food for some forest pests. This flows on to impact our native plants, animals, and their homes.
Beech mast often leads to an outbreak of pests such as rats, mice, and stoats. These predator plagues pose an increased threat to native forest birds and long tailed bats. These events may become more frequent as average temperatures rise, placing further pressure on our native plants and animals.
The predator plague cycle
Helping to control predators
What's being done to help?
Helping with the predator population booms from beech mast is important, but so is predator control outside a mast event. If we can lower predator numbers before mast events, their expansion during the events is likely to have less of an impact on our native plants and animals.
Each of us have knowledge and understanding about where we live, and harnessing that knowledge is one of the best ways to help combat the impacts of climate change.
Changes to the national climate play out differently in different locations. Some places are likely to get drier, and others wetter; alpine environments will be impacted differently than coastal environments.
Getting involved and offering your skills to your local predator control efforts can help our native species survive and thrive in the face of increasing pressure from predators.