New Zealand settlers planted European gorse in the 1800s as cheap, thorny farm hedges to fence livestock, but more than 150 years later, scientists say it has become one of the country’s most widespread invasive weeds, forming dense spiny thickets across pastures, hillsides and disturbed land
New Zealand’s rural landscapes are known for their rolling green hills and wide open pastures. For generations, farmers and landowners have worked hard to shape this countryside into a highly productive agricultural haven.