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Tiritiri Matangi's birdlife suffered greatly when the forests were cleared for pasture. Many species were forced to find new homes and food sources, and only the more resilient species remained, such as tui, fantail, silvereye, grey warbler, bellbird and spotless crake.
The replanting programme began on Tiritiri Matangi in 1984, to restore the native plants destroyed by the farming processes. This project involved thousands of volunteers, and was completed in 1994. Central to the planting project was the establishment of a nursery on the island to propagate seed gathered from the surviving trees. Pohutukawa was the main tree initially re planted. This fast growing tree forms a canopy for other slower growing species, shading out the thick grass and providing shelter from the exposed conditions. Taraire, kohekohe, puriri, and many others were later planted once the pohutukawa cover had been established. Other islands in the Hauraki Gulf are currently undergoing replanting schemes. |
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