Photo: Supplied by Central Otago Wilding Conifer Control Group
Scientists are hoping a recent 50-hectare controlled burn of wilding conifer pines in Central Otago will help develop new ways to rid land of the pest.
Wilding pines are invasive weeds that take over farmland and conservation areas, locking up land that could be productive.
The burn was scientifically monitored by Scion Group, as part of the Bioeconomy Science Institute and the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme's ongoing research work.
The objective is to get the burn hot enough and last long enough to destroy the cones on the trees and any wilding seed already in the soil.
Shana Gross is a fire ecologist at the Bioeconomy Science Institute.
Supplied by Central Otago Wilding Conifer Control Group. Photo:
