Breathing new life into choked-up wetlands

Published date24 May 2023
Farmers clearing weeds to bring wetlands back to life might have a lifelong job ahead of them

Ongoing maintenance is needed after native plants have become established.

About 120 farmers and industry people attended the Farm Wetland Symposium in Christchurch to learn more about the Managing Wetlands as Farm Assets project led by Landcare Trust and funded by central and local government and industry groups.

The project’s focus is on protecting and restoring wetlands; demonstration sites cover a range of different farming systems and ecological zones. Among them are three constructed wetlands. The project runs until the end of June.

Farmers were told at the symposium about the value of mapping native plants and water life on a site and monitoring changes, and to let nature do much of the ‘‘heavy lifting’’ rather than carrying out large-scale, expensive plantings.

They also needed to observe what was contributing to a weed problem in order to protect and encourage desirable native species.

Removing willows and woody weeds and then controlling them would be ongoing to keep wetlands healthy.

Willows were often drilled by ground control above the waterline to put in herbicides or regrowth was cut from the base.

Environment Canterbury wetlands principal biodiversity adviser Jason Butt said landowners needed to realise they could not restore a wetland a ‘‘little bit’’.

‘‘Once you are restoring a wetland, you are managing a wetland. That generally means you are managing it forever. Those things that led to the weeds invading and degrading a wetland, they don’t go away. The seed sources are generally in the landscape and they keep coming back. So once you start, sorry to say, you’re committed.’’

Willows had large canopies that cast shade and choked plants belonging to wetlands such as flax. Native woody species were generally limited in Canterbury wetlands except for kahikatea in lowland swampy wetlands, he said.

Some farmers such as Otematata Station’s Joe and Pip Cameron were reconnecting with local villagers to help them control weeds in a wetland project.

They were working to give holidaymakers access ways via the wetland to swimming spots in the nearby river so they bypassed lambing paddocks.

Farmer panels gave insights at the symposium into the satisfaction and challenges of starting a wetland project.

Ealing Dairies wetland

The dream for Canterbury farmers Ian and Sue Thornton is the wetland they’re restoring on their Ealing Dairies farm will one day be a...

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