Tūpuna Maunga Authority called upon to reduce maunga fire risk by maximising green cover

Honour the Maunga is calling on Tūpuna Maunga Authority to reduce fire risk on Auckland’s maunga by maximising tree cover.

Honour the Maunga has maintained an ongoing presence on the maunga for nearly a year to prevent the Authority from felling 345 healthy, mature exotic trees there – nearly half of its tree cover. In all, the Authority plans to get rid of around 2500 exotic trees from Auckland’s volcanic cones (maunga). The Authority’s tree felling will see up to 75% of the tree cover destroyed on some maunga.

Spokeswoman Anna Radford says the Authority’s decision to ban the public from the 14 maunga it administers during Guy Fawkes week evenings makes sense on one level. However, the fire risk will significantly increase if the Authority proceeds with its plans to strip Auckland’s maunga of exotic trees.

“Many of the fires on Auckland’s maunga have occurred outside of fireworks week, so a longer-term solution is needed.”

She notes that removing stock from Auckland’s maunga has resulted in the open areas becoming covered in very long grass, which quickly dries out and becomes a major fire hazard during the warmer months. 

However, the grass remains green for far longer under mature native and exotic trees. In thicker stands there is no grass at all, only lush green self-sown seedlings.

“Interestingly the vast majority of those seedlings are native species, showing that Mother Nature is doing her best to restore balance in the fragile maunga environments.”

Although the Authority plans to replace the exotic trees with native species, Ms Radford says the vast majority of the proposed native plantings on Ōwairaka / Mt Albert and other maunga will be low-growing species such as grasses and sedges, rather than species that will become tall trees.

“Many people mistakenly assume Ōwairaka / Mt Albert and other maunga will end up covered in lush green native trees and thriving native birdlife soon after Tūpuna Maunga Authority has destroyed all of the exotics.”

As can be seen at the barren expanses at Mangere and Pigeon Mountains and Mt Wellington, where nearly all of the exotics have been felled, those large trees have largely been replaced by a small number of flaxes and low-growing species, many of which have died.

“The resulting barren and dry conditions are perfect tinder for summer fires – an environment the Authority will create on all other maunga if its tree-felling plans continue.”

Honour the Maunga supports long-term succession to native vegetation on Auckland’s maunga, but says best environmental practice is for the process to take decades not weeks.

The Authority’s small number of low-growing native plantings on Ōhuiarangi / Pigeon Mountain against a backdrop of felled exotic trees and dry grass. The Authority’s tree-felling plans will create fire hazards like this on all maunga. Photo: Jeanette Walters

Lush native self-sown seedlings flourishing under mature native and exotic trees on Ōwairaka / Mt Albert in the midst of Auckland's 2019/20 summer drought. Note the lack of grass.