T0 study and restoration dynamics
Management of introduced species
Identify and protect zones that are candidates for ecological corridors
Hunting management
Plantations
Sylviculture: promote natural regeneration

Revegetate select zones and establish nurseries
Multiply the species of the sclerophyllous forest and conserve their seeds

T0 study and restoration dynamics

An inventory and the surveillance of the dynamics of the restoration of the forests of Tiéa and of Mr. Metzdorf will be entrusted in the IRD or completed in partnership. This work breaks down into two phases:
1999/2000 : T0 and fauna/flora protocol
2001/2004 : surveillance of the growth and regeneration dynamics
The results of the study of the dynamics of the vegetal formations of the sclerophyllous domain will be compared with the environmental characteristics.
The observation of the regrowth evolution of the ecosystem on the pilot site, in the absence of threats, will aid in defining the criteria for optimal restoration and sustainable management of these dry forests. The protocols will be established as we go, and will applied to sites with and without fences.

Management of introduced species

Intervention will specifically target invasive species and invertebrates by methods to be tested. Studies that have already been completed in Caledonia envisage the adaptation of efficient methods on the sites most touched by this phenomenon, in other words on sites where the exclusion of the principal threats (fire and herds) is not enough for natural regeneration of the dry forest. A study on the eradication of this ant has been entrusted in the IRD (Zoologie Laboratory) in 2001 on a few hectares at Pindaï.

Identify and protect zones that are candidates for ecological corridors

Natural restoration by installing ecological corridors between islets of protected dry forest can be envisaged to connect them and promote natural regeneration in forests that are free of threats. Two sites in South Province could be the object of a study on the natural extension of the sclerophyllous forest between two islets of dry forest that close to one another. The pilot site, on the land of Mr. Metzdorf, and the site Beaupré could be retained. The idea will be to fence in the two islets of dry forest and to connect them with a corridor, itself protected, in order to study the modalities of regeneration.

Hunting management

The provinces will call for an exterior project from the ONF-ONC (French National Forestry and Hunting Bureau) in order to define a hunting plan adapted to each situation. This hunting plan will be able to be put in place by provincial technicians in collaboration with breeders, the chamber of agriculture and the IAC.

Plantations

Endemic and rare species of the sclerophyllous forest will be harvested and multiplied (germination tests, tests for propagation by cuttings, nursery behavior, conservation in a seed bank) in order to envisage the reintroduction of plants into the wild and particularly into priority sites.
The techniques for plantation, surveillance and maintenance to be put in place (among others, fertilization and mulching) are chosen according to the specific constraints of the sites of reintroduction and according to the species to be implanted. Given that the distribution of species in dry forests is frequently disjointed, we will avoid introducing infraspecific varieties foreign to the area in question, which could varie the genome (variability in the population). This would provoke a pollution of the local gene pools and would hinder or prevent all ulterior studies. In the case that such an introduction could be justified to reintroduce locally a very threatened species, the geographic and genetic origin of the implants must be exactly noted, as well as the precise location of implantation (for example by taking the coordinates of this place by a GPS reading).
This plantation operation, lead by SIRAS Pacifique, will be completed with local team constituted in the form of an organization (of young people, of women).

Sylviculture : promote natural regeneration

The application of adapted sylviculture (which will not be limited to the arboreal level) must be able to be proposed in order to promote the growth of species of the sclerophyllous forest, by punctual and targeted maintenance. The objective is to improve the natural regeneration and growth of the plants by light culture practices (vine removal, bush removal, clean felling…) at the interior of the Tiéa forest and the forest of Mr. Metzdorf.

Revegitate select zones and establish nurseries

The artificial restoration (ex-situ) goes through the creation of nurseries which allow cultivation of the species of the floral procession of the Caledonian dry forest. The particularity of the dry forest is its high degree of endemism and the lack of knowledge that we have in terms of behavior, assemblage and regeneration. Nursery production of plants is an operational step which goes through the fine tuning of culture practices adapted to each species and which ends which the production of plants whose reproduction is known. This is how the pilot plots will play a prospective role in terms of alternatives to restoration by surveillance of the dynamics of gaining spaces. The goal is to determine the different modalities of restoration envisaged according to the capacity of islets to regenerate themselves.

Multiply the species of the sclerophyllous forest and conserve their seeds

This activity is part of the emergency actions to put in place to avoid, in particular, the disappearance of rare species (case already observed). Measures of vegetative multiplication, such as cuttings or the in vitro technique by publics or private organizations, are to be put in place particularly for the rare species bequeathed to the dry forest of New Caledonia. Additionally, the collection of seeds of these same species must be systematic for studies and for conservation. This activity will allow, after in-depth horticultural studies, and furthermore to propose a list of plants susceptible to be sold on the market.