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Project Details
Project status
Completed
Research Framework
Pou Nuku-a-rangi
Research Duration
Jan 2022 – Dec 2023
Project Overview
This project investigates non-native plant invasions in native forests and shrublands across Aotearoa New Zealand. The research project is based on data from vegetation plots surveyed from 2009 to 2014. The initial research utilised 247 mānuka-kānuka plots and the current research uses 839 forest plots. Laureline studied non-native species richness and ground cover in relation to vegetation structure, landscape features, and climate as well as forest type.
Findings revealed that mānuka-kānuka shrublands are more invaded than other native forests. Higher native canopy richness and cover led to lower non-native richness and ground cover. However, some non-native woody species can still spread in the invaded plots despite a closed canopy. Non-native richness and ground cover increased with adjacent anthropogenic land cover, whereas native richness and ground cover showed a negative relationship.
Why This Matters
This research has added to the growing understanding of exotic plant invasions in Aotearoa New Zealand and underscored the susceptibility of mānuka-kānuka shrublands to such invasions. This awareness is crucial for informing potential weed management initiatives in the future.
Project Objectives
- Understand the key factors influencing plant invasion success in mānuka-kānuka shrublands
- Identify native forest and shrubland ecosystems more vulnerable to plant invasions.
- Characterise the successful non-native plant invaders.
Research Outputs
Journal Articles
- Effects of Habitat Fragmentation on Alien Plant Invasion in Native Shrublands (2026)
- Low Richness of Invasive Non‐Native Plants in New Zealand Indigenous Forests May Not Reflect Low Impact (2024)
- Native vegetation structure, landscape features and climate shape non-native plant richness and cover in New Zealand native shrublands (2023)
Conferences
- Presentation: Alien weeds at shrubland edges (2025)
New Zealand Plant Protection Society Conference - Presentation: Native vegetation structure, landscape features, and climate shape non-native plant richness and cover in New Zealand Mānuka and Kānuka shrublands (2023)
International Congress on Biological Invasions - Poster: Fragmentation favours plant invasions in New Zealand native shrublands (2023)
16th International Conference on Ecology and Management of Alien Plant Invasions
Webinars
- Non-Native Plant Invasion in Aotearoa: Insights from Mānuka–Kānuka Shrublands (2025)
Rangahau Rising Webinar Series