New Zealand Field Trips November 2009

[Lesley Cox]

I wasn't on this trip with David but on a previous one, DID fall into the bog and of course everyone had a good laugh - until they realized I couldn't get out on my own and was beginning to sink! One of the more elderly gentlmen of the party came to my rescue eventually and I crawled out over raincoats laid on the surface. Quite frightening for a few minutes.

[Ewelina Wajgert]

If you are tempted with your photos in this and previous threads to visit NZ, write me, if it's possible to visit your islands in (your) winter - July, August and to be glad.
What is the weather then?

[Lesley Cox]

Our winter (June/July and perhaps early August), are much less severe than yours Ewelina but even so, you couldn't visit the mountains at that time, as they have snow cover. July is the coldest month and August I like to think of as spring as there are so many crocuses out, snowdrops, bulbous irises etc.

[Ewelina Wajgert]

you couldn't visit the mountains at that time, as they have snow cover.

What height is it snow from? Is it in the mountain's valleys too?

[Lesley Cox]

It can be, but not necessarily. We tend to get occasional snow storms which cover everything including farmland and roads but they may only last a few days or a week. Some areas will be covered all through winter and others will melt. There is still a little snow in many areas where David will visit to look at plants but the higher mountains are still covered on their tops.

[David Lyttle]

I am going to have to reply to some of the questions raised in bits;

Gerd,
The peat bogs develop under conditions of low temperature ( preventing microbial decomposition of the dead vegetation) and lots of moisture. These conditions are quite prevalent in the lower part of the South Island especially in the alpine zone. Down where Dave Toole lives in Invercargill these peat bogs occur at sea level and the pictures he posted earlier in the thread are of one such bog. However nothing remains static and the Awarua Bog is being taken over by shrubby vegetation( Leptospermum, Dracophyllum and Phormium tenax) to the detriment of the cushion plants. It is hard to say what precisely controls the balance between cushion plants, tussock grassland and shrubby vegetation - possibly the shrubs and tussock do not like being waterlogged. The cushion plants avoid waterlogging by rooting into the dead material at the centre of the cushion where there is better drainage and as do all the other little plants the grow in the larger cushions. Many of these plants are not restricted to peat bogs and grow in other moist situations.

Cohan,

It is early spring and very few plants have flowered. There is still the odd dump of snow as the southerly fronts come through though the bulk of the winter snow is gone. The colour of the tussocks and background shrubs does not change much throughout the year.

Paddy ,

Its a bit more solid then a slurry pit. The peat tends to compact and act as a giant sponge. In some places it has eroded away exposing the branches of long dead trees and shrubs. ( Halocarpus and Dracophyllum) In some places you can find little piles of quartz pebles which are moa gizzard stones.

[Gerdk]

David,
Thank you for explanation!

Gerd

[Lori S.]

Moa gizzard stones!  How amazing!

Not exactly Canadian muskeg (=30% water, 30% vegetation and 30% mosquitoes)

It's actually possible to find muskeg without the mosquitoes in the odd place in the foothills here...

[David Lyttle]

Here is the last batch of picture from the Blue Mountains.

1. view looking north-east towards the Lammerlaw Range which is the flat-topped plateau in the distance.

2. Bog pine (Halocarpus bidwillii) on the margin of a small tarn.

3 Celmisia sessiliflora cushion

4 Celmisia sessiliflora cushion with the lichen Thamnolia vermicularis

5. Dracophyllum politum one of the several species of Dracophyllum that occur here. It hybridises with Dracophyllum prostratum making it difficult to identify individual plants.

6. Lepidothamnus laxifolius, a small creeping conifer.

7. Phyllachne colensoi in flower.

8. Shrubland mainly Dracophyllum longifolium with Chionochloa rigida tussock.

9,10 Red coloured variant of Dracophyllum longifolium

[Paddy Tobin]

David,

At risk of repeating myself, these are wonderful sights; extraordinary plants for us to see and it is a great thrill to see them even if not in person (and probably will never see them in person!).

Many thanks for your postings; have always enjoyed them very much; do continue.

Paddy

[Luc Gilgemyn]

These images of "another world" never cease to amaze me David !!!!
Goodness me, the sight of that Celmisia in bloom must be breathtaking !
Thanks a lot for posting !

[David Lyttle]

Hi Luc and Paddy,

I am pleased you enjoyed the pictures; these cushion bogs are quite remarkable when you think about them. I had a discussion with Alan Mark as to whether they were unique to the region but it seem they are not. It seems they occur in Terra del Fuego (a bit closer to home, Paddy) and probably Tasmania.  Donatia novae-zelandiae also occurs in Tasmania as does Phyllachne colensoi and another species, Donatia fascicularis, is found in South America. On this visit there was very little flowering so I focused on taking pictures of the plant cushions and some of the non-vascular plants that are a feature of these bogs.

[Lesley Cox]

They certainly occur in the Mt Field National Park in Tasmania. There are some board walks across some areas which makes traversing relatively easy. The Park is, to a New Zealander, incredibly like being at home.

[Paddy Tobin]

"It seems they occur in Terra del Fuego (a bit closer to home, Paddy)"

Oh, I must make a quick run down before lunch!

No, your photographs are as close as I am going to come to this environment.

Paddy