The Abel Tasman National Park experienced a substantial drought in the summer of 2018/19, with virtually no rain for nearly three months. The impact is possibly less than that of the 2000-2001 drought because 2018 was one of the wettest years in recent decades, meaning the soil and underlying rock water reserves were fully charged.
Nevertheless, many plants wilted or died back, and seedlings died, and so it is a good opportunity to study the effects of drought on the ecosystem, and to reflect on what it means in terms of ecological restoration such as planting and species reintroduction.
