NIWA study backs Green New Deal planting & fencing

by frog

Yesterday, Kevin Hague MP blogged on the voluntary efforts to improve water quality and water-way ecology in the Aorere catchment.

And, the Greens continue to promote a Green New Deal stimulus measure to spread fencing and planting across the country, to create jobs and restore waterways at the same time.

Today, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) has research has provided further evidence of the benefits of such approaches. Over to NIWA [link to come]:

Animal fencing and trees needed for stream restoration

The importance of tree plantings along streams to provide shade for water environments and of fencing waterways off from animals has been reinforced in new NIWA research. …

Case studies published in the latest Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research show that it takes very little time to destroy riparian margins with loss of habitat for several invertebrate and fish species. However, it takes a long time, probably more than 20 years, to completely restore a native forest stream.

Three case studies demonstrate that, while water quality could be boosted relatively quickly, plants and animals were slower to take advantage of the better conditions, and colonisation was more rapid in smaller than larger streams. …

Planting riparian margins and fencing to keep out grazing stock was important to maintain aquatic habitats, the studies showed. Changing highly erodible land from pastoral use to forestry plantings also had beneficial impact on stream life, by providing shade, lowering stream temperature to levels plants and animals liked better, and by removing livestock impacts on the waterways.