3
Magazine
Beachcare groups:
Coromandel Peninsula
Kuaotunu
In this edition of the group updates, we feature the work of the Kuaotunu
Beachcare volunteers and the great restoration results they have achieved.
Kuaotunu consists of two beaches –
Kuaotunu East
and
Kuaotunu West
.
Beachcare has been active at both sites since the mid 1990s
.
At
Kuaotunu East,
large macrocarpa trees dominate the frontal dune, limiting dune restoration.
Work to date has focused on the eastern half of the beach where there are more open dune areas.
The following photos show the restoration of the Kuaotunu East fore-dune, west of the Davis Road
beach accessway.
Before restoration the frontal dune was dominated
by exotic species.
After this exotic vegetation had been cleared and
native species planted.
The fully restored frontal dune.
The large macrocarpa pictured had been
undermined by erosion, so was removed and the
dune reshaped and planted with native species.
The fully restored dune.
Dune restoration further east, with plantings of
spinifex (seaward) and knobby club rush (landward).
The frontal dune at
Kuaotunu West
is steeply
eroded and badly damaged due to historic
sand extraction. Reshaping and repair of the
dunes is presently precluded by an important
archaeological layer at the top of the steep
eroded face. However, some dune repair has
been practical where the archaeological layer is
not present.
This photo taken in 2010 shows a dune area where
the archaeological layer is not present and with
vegetation dominated by exotic perennial grasses.
The same area in 2012 following restoration –
including reshaping and planting with spinifex
(lighter colour) and pīngao (orange-coloured).
A board and chain access has also been installed to
facilitate beach access from the reserve to landward.
In view of the difficulties with restoring
the frontal dune, Kuaotunu Beachcare has
historically placed a lot of emphasis on
restoration of native back-dune vegetation, with
extensive planting of hardy native trees and
shrubs from the mid 1990s.
The back-dune area at Kuaotunu West in 2002, some 8
years after commencement of planting of hardy native
coastal shrubs by Kuaotunu Beachcare
– with large numbers of small shrubs evident
over the previously bare area.
The same area in 2012, with further growth
(and some additional planting in the mid-2000s).
Restoration to the east of Davis Road.
