Story: Estuaries

Cordgrass, New River Estuary

Cordgrass, New River Estuary

Cordgrass (Spartina), an introduced plant, grows vigorously on mid-tidal muds, where no other plant establishes. Because the clumps are very effective at trapping sediments, land builds up around them. Spartina cordgrass was planted in Invercargill’s New River Estuary in the 1930s to help reclaim land for industrial development. From initial clumps covering 14 hectares, the grass had spread to over 800 hectares by 1989. Since then authorities have eliminated most of the plants with chemical sprays.

Using this item

Department of Conservation
Reference: 10050167

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Maggy Wassilieff, 'Estuaries - Plants of the estuary', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/4630/cordgrass-new-river-estuary (accessed 28 March 2024)

Story by Maggy Wassilieff, published 12 Jun 2006