My next helicopter trip was in quite a different area, over Mt Taranaki. Landcare research has a project going where they sample leaflitter and soil organisms from exclosures around the country. They try to sample a range of habitats, from lowland to montane and from the tip of the North Island to the offshore sub-Antarctic islands. One of the few remaining intact exclosure plots on Mt Egmont was included in the selection.

Neither DB nor I had ever been there, and we wanted to inspect that exclosure plot and try to locate another one nearby. Exclosure plot 6 is precariously balanced above Pyramid stream in sub-alpine scrub. The helicopter hovered with one skid touching the ground, the other suspended over the 100-m cliff, and we gingerly edged our way out.

Sub-alpine scrub has a reasonably low stature. This is one of the reasons we knew that the exclosure still exists, it is visible from the air. The plot was constructed in 1973 on true right side of Pyramid stream, in the montane scrub zone above plot 8. Altitude approximately 3000 feet above sealevel.

Canopy:

Groundcover: Mostly Astelias, Uncinia grass and Blechnum capense.

Regeneration: Mostly Coprosma tenuifolia, Scenecio and Hebe stricta.

Browsing and trampling by resident goat population is marked along and adjacent to the cliff edge above Pyramid stream. Occasional dead Scenecio, Hebe and Neopanax stems observed. Recent browsing is confined to Astelia trinervia and almost all plants in the area have suffered moderate to heavy browsing, presumably in the absence of other preferred species of edible size.
A small pocket of goats has resided in the area for considerable time. Occasionally shot but soon replaced from the surrounding scrub, not from "dead area" but further upstream in more Scenecio scrub.

1974 - This plot is situated in the Upson/Pyramid dead area.

Canopy: Scenecio elaeagnifolius, C. parviflora , Hebe stricta, Dracophyllum, , N. simplex var sinclarii and Cassinia.

Groundcover: Mostly Astelias, Uncinia grass and Blechnum capense.

Along the cliff edges is a heavily browsed animal track which is in keeping with other such areas throughout the scrub zone. The heavily browsed area is approximately 100 yards long and is in the immediate area of this plot.
Goats have also been inside the plot and heavy browsing can be seen on Astelia plants.
The general area around this plot holds a moderate population of goats

This is what the descriptions are talking about. The photos are taken in 1973 and show how the scrublands, that used to be there, have been eaten bare and now resemble some sort of "pasture". This particular photo is taken looking back towards the peak of Mt Egmont. The stream is on our right, about 100-m down the cliff. The spot where we are "standing" no longer exists, it is now sheer cliff and the fence is suspended just over the edge of it.

There are a few taller plants inside the exclosure, but they are sparse and badly chewed. The colour photo of the plot, that I took this year, is taken from the far corner.

This photo is taken from roughly the same spot as the previous one, but looking in the opposite direction. You can see some of the surrounding Taranaki plains in the distance. The cliff down into the Pyramid Stream is on our left. I've labeled it on the opposite bank. Erosion since 1973 has reduced this area to a 1 m wide ledge. Again note the lack of significant vegetation and the barren looking specimens that you can see.

This is what it looks like now. DB is standing inside the plot, by the post that I highlighted in the first picture. The stream is on our left and we are looking towards the plains. DB is not particularly short, about 1.7 m I guess. You can see how much more lush and taller the vegetation has become. I have another photo somewhere (can't find it at the moment) that shows that the vegetation outside the exclosure plot is nearly as tall.

What that means is that there is very little difference in growth between the fenced off area (to keep the goats out) and the goat accessible area outside. Maybe not quite what you were expecting, but then conditions have changes somewhat since 1973. The goat control programme on Mt Taranaki has been stepped up considerably since then. The fact that the plants are lush and tall shows that elimination of goats has a very positive effect on vegetation growth and composition. Furthermore, goats in this area have been reduced to such low numbers that they have little impact on any of the vegetation.

This is great news !!!

It means that all our efforts are paying off and we are making a difference. Even species like kamahi (Weinmannia racemosa) are starting to make a comeback. Note the tall cabbage tree behind DB in the photo (Cordyline indivisa). No mention at all of that species in the vegetation descriptions of 1973/74 but they are plentiful in the area now. That is excellent, and only partially because it is one of my favourite species.

Just a quick bit of history. Goats were introduced into the surrounding farmland to help control blackberry. They did this rather well, but because there were no fences on the boundaries, the goats also migrated into the park with devastating consequences on the understory vegetation.

Most of the park is fenced now, but goats are gnarly creatures and quite capable of climbing through fences. The District council is considering banning goats from a 2 km radius around the park (like deer are excluded at the moment) to reduce goats in the immediate area. If that happens it might be possible to eradicate goats completely from the park one day. This can't happen until there are no sources of goats left on surrounding land to reinvade the park. It will be a major undertaking to get the last few goats. The area is steep and many parts are inaccessible to humans, but not to goats.

This is a picture of the cliff on the other side of pyramid stream. It is at least 100 m high. You can see the layering of the ash and rocks from different volcanic explosions. Bits were constantly dropping off the cliff as we stood there. Goats will be able to climb up and down some of these cliffs and escape. Humans are not quite so nimble.

At least we are managing to hold our own a bit in the park now, keeping goats and possums more or less under control and giving the vegetation a break from being chewed to death. I have some slides, that I must get scanned in, showing some of the severe damage by possums in the past in the Park. Until next time.