The Department of Conservation (DOC) is responsible for protecting Kauri on public conservation land and other land it manages, including many of New Zealand’s most significant Kauri forests.
Now Kauri are facing a new threat. Kauri dieback is a fungus-type disease, Phytophthora agathidicida (PA), which is having a devastating effect on New Zealand’s Kauri forests in Northland, Great Barrier Island and, potentially, the Coromandel Peninsula.
Kauri dieback can kill Kauri of all ages. It lives in the soil and infects Kauri roots, damaging the tissues that carry nutrients and water within the tree, effectively starving it to death.
There’s currently no proven cure or treatment and nearly all infected Kauri die. The disease is easily spread through soil movements, e.g. when soil is carried on dirty footwear, animals, equipment and vehicles.
Kauri dieback can be spread by just a pinhead of soil. We can save our Kauri forests by containing the disease and stopping it spreading to other areas. We can help reduce its spread by cleaning boots and equipment and avoiding Kauri tree roots.
Kauri are amongst the world's mightiest trees, growing to over 50m tall, with trunk girths up to 16m, and living for over 2,000 years. You can learn more about Kauri, its historic uses, where you can see Kauri, and how to help prevent the spread of disease here.
You can learn more about animal and plant conservation, and the pests and threats which threaten them here.
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