WAIKAWAU. SOME DUNE PLANTS.

Wandering along the drift line can be very rewarding. You can never be sure what treasure might have been cast up by the sea! It  also happens to be one of the most formidable locations for living things on the planet. It is an interface between two major environments. Mostly it is land, but, sometimes, it becomes the sea. Only a few organisms manage to live in such changeable conditions.

Above the high tide mark conditions are only a little less harsh. The first plant you encounter, at the foot of the dunes, is the sea stock. It throngs with bees when it is in flower. Later it's seeds become the food for the introduced greenfinch.

Pingao

Then the native sand binders, Spinifex and Pingao appear holding and building the protective fore dunes. The seed head of Spinifex cartwheeling along the beach in summer is a familiar sight.

Spinifex

The dunes favours those plants that have a particular edge. Some are very good at conserving water.

Sea Convolvulus

Some, like the sea convulvulus manage to get through their life cycle and produce seed before the harsh summer arrives.

Bush lupin

The bush lupin has two advantages at least. It has deep roots so water is less of a problem. In a low nitrogen environment it also gets extra nitrogen from the air.

The catchfly, with its sticky leaves and stems also supplements its mineral requirements from the insects which become glued to it.

Getting a free ride is the parasitic broomrape. It has no chlorophyll but gets it's food from the roots of other plants.

Further back from the sea the plant cover becomes more complete and the sand binders more infrequent. Eventually larger plants, more bush like,start to appear and the sand binders are nowhere to be found.

WAIKAWAU. THE DUNES.

Dune systems as good as this are a bit of a rarity. Just a few changes since the arrival of man. The moas are gone to be replaced with a few extras like rabbits, mammalian predators and an array of introduced plant species. Many dune systems elsewhere have fallen into the hands of coastal developers but this is, hopefully, less likely for the Waikawau dunes as they are part of the conservation estate.
The dunes have a remarkable ability to protect against coastal erosion, acting as a barrier against the intrusion of the sea. Much of this ability is dependant on the presence of two plant species, Spinifex and Pingaio.

Pingao

They obstruct the passage of sand carried by the onshore winds causing it to build up in the lee of the plants. The fore dunes grow in height as the native sand binders grow up through the deposited sand and trap yet more.
In circumstances of extreme and prolonged high winds the protective fore dunes  and the area behind can, in places, be blown out. For a while there is less protection against erosion, but dunes are self repairing ecosystems and will reform as long as there are native sand binders around to do the job.
In other areas, where residential developments have happened, the native sand binders have gone from the dunes. The dunes are less capable of adjusting to changes in the environment. Currently Environment Bay of Plenty is actively replanting native sand binders to restore this ability. With the prospect of future sea level rises from global warming this has to be a wise move.

There is one small upside to visiting areas where the wind has scoured right down to the water table. You could well be walking into prehistory. An old moa hunting site could be revealed, perhaps signs of fire on scattered rocks, or even collections of rounded moa gizzard stones. Who knows. It's always worth a look!

TUATEAWA AUTUMN

Despite a few, heavy but short downpours, there are many signs of drought around Tuateawa. The fronds of many black pongas have dried and died. Trees that were once dense and luxuriant are now a little more see through. The ground below is covered with more than the usual quantity of shed leaves.

On Kahutara, where the bones of the land are closer to the surface, there are large areas of browned off vegetation, presumably titree. In and amongst there are larger trees, maybe rewa rewa that have died. It is not unusual but it does seem a little more extreme than I can recall. Come the winter rains and it will start to recover.

Some things seem to be doing remarkably well. We have a legion of very healthy swan plants. The paper wasps, illegal aliens them selves, seem to be removing the Monarch caterpillars before they can really make an impact. There are far fewer adult Monarchs to be seen.
Most things seem to be proceeding as normal, the drought is just a small hiccup. The quail have forgotten summer differences and are in sizeable flocks. There are a lot of fruits around for the birds.

Some you would prefer to eat yourselves and others that will create weed problems in the future.

These Cotoneasters produce an heavy crop of fruit attractive to birds and the plant is becoming increasingly common in Tuateawa.

Not so edible is the seed of the Pohutukawa. Seed is just starting to be released and it is produced in incredible quantities.

Project Crimson has good advice on growing your own Pohutukawa from seed if you search out their website.