Working to save trees

Contractors have been working to remove mountains of silt at Anzac Park. District council parks and reserves staff have noticed signs of distress among the small stand of native trees in the park, and are working to try to save them. Picture by Liam Clayton

A planning process is under way to remove some of the silt from around trees in  Anzac Park to try to save them from death or serious dieback.

Gisborne District Council parks and reserves team is working on a plan to save the affected trees there.

Cyclones Hale and Gabrielle left large amounts of silt deposited around Tairāwhiti.

That silt can seriously compromise the health of mature native trees.

Following Cyclone Bola in 1988, a large volume of silt was deposited in the former Rakaukaka scenic reserve at Manutuke. This reserve contains some large mature indigenous tree species (titoki and tawa dominant) and some tree deaths and severe canopy dieback was noted in the years following Cyclone Bola.

The reserve was again seriously impacted during Cyclone Gabrielle as were many other areas of significant forest remnants around the district.

In town, a small but significant stand of native vegetation next to the Waimata River at Anzac Park was inundated, with around 400mm of silt being deposited throughout the stand of trees.

Council staff visited the reserve shortly after the cyclone and within two to three weeks of the event the smaller, understory trees were already showing signs of severe distress and dieback.

Concern was raised as to the long-term impacts on the larger trees, which will take longer to show the effects.

The full effects of flooding on some of  the district’s more established forest remnants on the flats will not be fully realised for some time yet.

The silt can cause the cambium (a layer of actively dividing cells that is responsible for the secondary growth of stems and roots of the tree) to break down, exposing the tree to bugs and viruses which leads to dieback. Fine roots can also be suffocated by 200-300mm of silt.

To save the trees, ideally silt should be cleared from the root collar of the trees (where the roots meet the trunk) out to the dripline. The challenge is doing this without causing additional damage to the trunk or root network. It is best to do this by hand rather than using a digger wherever possible.

“If you have trees on your property that you are concerned about then you can contact an arborist for advice. Removing as much silt as possible from around the trunk and roots as soon as you, can make all the difference to their long-term health,” the council says.