Speaker: Jane Gosden

Kettle hole tarns that form ephemeral wetlands (hereafter kettles) are plant biodiversity hotspots containing over 400 species of plants and lichens (hereafter “plant”) including numerous At Risk and Threatened species. Management of kettles is challenging because they are small (median 0.09 ha), widely distributed in Te Waipounamu | the South Island, patchy in the landscape, found across a wide range of land tenures and experience varied land uses.

My PhD examines four aspects of kettle plant community ecology aiming to guide management recommendations for these extraordinary ecosystems. Collectively, my PhD covers 1) the geographic distribution of kettles and their underlying land tenure, 2) patterns in the biodiversity of kettles along their range, 3) changes in kettle plant communities through time, and 4) the role of seed banks and Canada geese in the dispersal of kettle plants. So far, my work indicates most kettle biodiversity is held off the conservation estate, many individual kettles contain unique biodiversity, and geese likely play an important role in kettle plant ecology.