Edge effects and myrtle rust
Posted 3 Dec 2024
By James McCarthy
Type: News
Status: Confirmed
Notes: Three transects were established on the southern side of Mt Taranaki, running from forest edge toward the interior, to look at the influence of edge effects on myrtle rust infection on Lophomyrtus bullata (the most susceptible NZ species to the disease). The study ran for three years, and found that infection was higher further from the edge in the first year (likely due to increased humidity), but this effect weakened in the following years, presumably as infection spread across the site. The vegetation data from the transects are stored in NVS.
McCarthy JK, Bellingham PJ, Jo I, Grelet G-A, Bartlett M, Buxton RP, Fergus AJ, Fraser S, Peace J, Probst CM, Padamsee M 2025. Environmental drivers of spatial variation in myrtle rust development on a critically endangered tree species. Biological Conservation 301: 110902.
Click here to view the paper.
