David A Norton

University of Canterbury | UC · School of Forestry

Background: We investigated the long-term potential of non-harvest Pinus radiata plantations for the facilitation and restoration of a natural forest community dominated by indigenous woody species. We investigated the relationship between indigenous regeneration and light levels and the hypothesis that proximity to indigenous seed sources is criti...

A substantial northern range extension for the southwestern South Island endemic Dracophyllum fiordense is described. Previously, this species was known to extend from Fiordland up the western side of the Southern Alps as far as the Franz Joseph Glacier. New records from the Waitaha and Hokitika River catchments extend its range northeast by a furt...

This paper explores the potential of the sustainable management of regenerating tōtara on Northland farmland for achieving biodiversity conservation outcomes. Sustainable tōtara management can provide a direct incentive for landowners to retain and better manage regenerating forests, which are otherwise of little or no economic value, while also pr...

We created small-scale artificial canopy gaps to accelerate the growth of mature indigenous forest canopy species for restoration of an 18-year-old exotic Pinus radiata plantation forest, in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand. Small and large circular gaps were formed by felling. Seedlings of two indigenous forest canopy species, Podocarpus totara...

Tree ferns are recognized as “keystone” species for their role in casting deep shade on forest floor environments, acting as a differential ecological filter on forest regeneration processes. Tree fern dominance is a feature of New Zealand’s central North Island exotic Pinus radiata (Pinaceae) plantations, particularly beyond 20 years following pla...

We propose that nonharvest plantations could provide important opportunities for restoration of indigenous forest cover and related ecosystem services. We assessed the relative performance of three Podocarpaceae (podocarps) species planted into a degraded Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) plantation, central North Island, New Zealand. We hypothesise...

New Zealand's dryland zone contains some of the country's most threatened ecosystems and is also the least well protected. Natural regeneration of native forest and shrubland species in dryland ecosystems is often limited by several environmental and anthropic factors that affect the establishment and growth of seedlings. This research is focusing...

Compensating for biodiversity losses in 1 location by conserving or restoring biodiversity elsewhere (i.e., biodiversity offsetting) is being used increasingly to compensate for biodiversity losses resulting from development. We considered whether a form of biodiversity offsetting, enhancement offsetting (i.e., enhancing the quality of degraded nat...

Enhancing our Heritage: Conservation for 21st Century New Zealanders: Ways forward from the Tahi Group of Concerned Scientists JOHN CRAIG1, HENRIK MOLLER2 , DAVID NORTON3 , DENIS SAUNDERS4 and MORGAN WILLIAMS5 New Zealanders are constantly reminded of their degraded environment and the threatened status of their unique plants, animals and ecosyste...

The ability to address land degradation and biodiversity loss while maintaining the production of plant and animal products is a key global challenge. Biodiversity decline as a result of vegetation clearance, cultivation, grazing, pesticide and herbicide application, and plantation establishment, amongst other factors, has been widely documented in...

The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below was reassessed using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). A full list is presented, along with a statistical summary and brief notes on the most important changes. This 2012 list replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plant...

Questions Is trait convergence more intense when soil resource availability and disturbance constrain productivity and limit above‐ground competition? Do the effects of productivity and disturbance on functional diversity differ between the local and metacommunity scales? Location Semi‐arid grasslands in N ew Z ealand (43°59′ S, 170°27′ E). Metho...

Restoration of postmining substrates to native forest is a standard requirement of resource consents for mine sites located within areas of native forest in New Zealand. Unweathered waste rock presents significant challenges for plant growth, and past research highlights the importance of replacing soil as part of restoration. However, replacing so...

Invasive exotic woody species, including conifers escaped from plantations, are usually regarded as serious threats to native biodiversity. Becerra & Montenegro (Applied Vegetation Science, 16, 2013, 2) present an interesting example of invasive Pinus radiata facilitating native woody regeneration in semi-arid central Chile. However, the positive v...

There is growing interest in the use of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) for ecological restoration. Numerous commercial AMF products are now available and are often used in preference to collecting indigenous AMF in treating restoration plants. Commercial AMF products are typically based on AMF strains exotic to the plant species and locations w...

Hawkweed (Hieracium species) invasion in the tussock grasslands of South Island, New Zealand, has been well documented. Distribution of these species ranges from montane to alpine grasslands, from Hawkes Bay to Southland. This study quantifies the distribution of three Hieracium species in a high country tall (snow) tussock grassland along the Uppe...

There is increasing interest in the use of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) for ecological restoration, as AMF can improve plant nutrition and growth. However, some AMF can have negative effects on plant growth. It is therefore critical that restoration strategies incorporate appropriate AMF. This research investigated differences in growth and s...

Determining the biodegradability of soluble organic matter (OM) is important in understanding its role in biogeochemical cycles. We evaluated C and N biodegradation for two frequently studied fractions of soluble OM, water (0.01 mol L-1 CaCl2) and salt (0.5 mol L-1 K2SO4) extractable organic matter (WEOM and SEOM, respectively). Soil samples were c...

The dynamic equilibrium model of species diversity predicts that ecosystem productivity interacts with disturbance to determine how many species coexist. However, a robust test of this model requires manipulations of productivity and disturbance over a sufficient timescale to allow competitive exclusion, and such long-term experimental tests of thi...

1. Soil resource availability and disturbance are widely recognized as key drivers of plant community structure. However, the relative importance of different plant traits in determining species abundance following shifts in soil resource availability and disturbance remains little studied, particularly in long-term experiments. 2. We studied trait...

Rates and spatial patterns of tree mortality were examined using long-term data from old-growth, mixed-species forests of the Maruia Valley, South Island, New Zealand. The aim of the study was to investigate patterns of tree mortality in two common, co-occurring species, Nothofagus fusca (Hook. f.) Oerst. and Nothofagus menziesii (Hook. f.) Oerst....

The Land-Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector of the Kyoto Protocol requires New Zealand to monitor changes in the country's carbon stocks, including those within indigenous forests. Podocarpus cunninghamii Colenso was, in pre-human times, a dominant tree species within the forests of the South Island high country. Anthropogenic distur...

Soil turnover as a result of tree windthrow has an important influence on soil development and plant distribution in forests. Estimates of the time needed for soil turnover in a given area are often made, but unless these take into account the potential for reestablishment of canopy trees onto sites previously affected by windthrow, they are likely...

The composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) communities found in agricultural systems has been found to be very different to that of forest. The implications of this, if any, for the restoration of indigenous forest on ex-agricultural land is poorly understood. This study investigated the effect that AMF communities isolated from ex-agric...

Spatial studies of ecology rarely look at small-scale spatial community organisation within multiple plots on multiple sites therefore it is difficult to draw conclusions that can be generalised. We hypothesised that small-scale spatial patterns of Festuca tussock grasslands should be consistent within a site and between various sites because their...

Rapid vegetation sampling methods based on visual estimation are useful for monitoring changes in rangeland vegetation composition because large spatial and temporal scales are often involved and have limited sampling resources available. Here we compared two sampling methods in their ability to detect changes in vegetation composition following ra...

The limestone endemic Heliohebe raoulii subsp. maccaskillii is raised to species rank based on its distinctive morphology and ecological habitat, and its sympatry with H. raoulii subsp. raoulii. Unlike H. raoulii, which is widely distributed from Mid Canterbury to Marlborough, and is not threatened, H. maccaskillii is restricted to North Canterbury...

We tested the hypothesis that roads in arid central Australia modify roadside hydrology and nutrient patterns creating better habitat for mistletoes (Loranthaceae). In two areas of mulga woodland near Alice Springs where mulgas (Acacia aneura) are the principal mistletoe host, we compared mistletoe abundance, and host foliar water and nutrient cont...

Species invasions impose key biotic thresholds limiting the success of ecological restoration projects. These thresholds may be difficult to reverse and will have long-term consequences for restoration because of invasion legacies such as extinctions; because most invasive species cannot be eliminated given current technology and resources; and bec...

We document a statistically significant difference in Hieracium pilosella inflorescence density and sheep grazing density in a high country property which supports the suggestion that grazing during flowering may reduce fecundity and seedling establishment of Hieracium species.

This study investigated the effects of the removal of sheep grazing on sweet brier (Rosa rubiginosa) in montane short‐tussock grassland. Sweet brier is an invasive woody weed of economic and conservation significance in hill and high country. Destructive sampling of a range of sweet brier plants indicated that both volume and height are good predic...

indigenous New Zealand vascular plant flora is presented using the 2008 version of the threat classification system developed for the New Zealand Department of Conservation. The list comprises 897 taxa (38% of New Zealand’s total indigenous vascular flora) in the following categories: Extinct—6 taxa, Threatened—180 taxa (comprising 91 Nationally Cr...

A reappraisal of the conservation status of the indigenous New Zealand vascular plant flora is presented using the 2008 version of the threat classification system developed for the New Zealand Department of Conservation. The list comprises 897 taxa (38% of New Zealand’s total indigenous vascular flora) in the following categories: Extinct—6 taxa,...

Biodiversity offsets are increasingly being used for securing biodiversity conservation outcomes as part of sustainable economic development to compensate for the residual unavoidable impacts of projects. Two recent New Zealand examples of biodiversity offsets are reviewed-while both are positive for biodiversity conservation, the process by which...

This study investigates the potential of object-based texture parameters extracted from 15m spatial resolution ASTER imagery for estimating tree size diversity in a Mediterranean forested landscape in Turkey. Tree size diversity based on tree basal area was determined using the Shannon index and Gini Coefficient at the sampling plot level. Image te...

The New Zealand Threat Classification System provides a tool for assigning a threat status to candidate taxa. In this revision of the 2002 system, substantial changes include the addition of the new categories ‘Declining’, ‘Naturally Uncommon’, ‘Recovering’ and ‘Relict’. The category ‘Naturally Uncommon’ is adopted to distinguish between biological...

Waikatea Station (3570 ha) is located in the Tiniroto Ecological District (Wairoa Ecological Region), in northern Hawke's Bay, and is typical of sheep and cattle properties that occur through the hill country between Napier and Gisborne. The topography is generally steep, with sharp hill crests separated by often incised river systems. The highest...

Canterbury mudfish (Neochanna burrowsius) are endemic to a small region of Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand and classified as nationally endangered. We reviewed data from the New Zealand Freshwater Fish Database and trapped fish in July 2006, and January and February 2007 in the Waianiwaniwa Valley, Canterbury to determine the importance of th...

Monitoring of a major eastern outlier of the large alpine herb Ranunculus lyallii in the Rockwood Range, Canterbury, found little change in either population structure or reproductive effort over four growing seasons despite this period including some of the driest and warmest conditions of the last 10 years. The population structure suggests ongoi...

Novotny et al. (Reports, 25 August 2006, p. 1115) argued that higher herbivore diversity in tropical forests results from greater phylogenetic diversity of host plants, not from higher host specificity. However, if host specificity is related to host abundance, differences in relative host abundance between tropical and temperate regions may limit...

N. W. H. Mason, J. B. Wilson and J. B. Steel argue that there is no logical conceptual basis, and no empirical data, to support an association between environmental adversity and the occurrence of alternative stable states. While we agree that robust debate on the relative frequency of occurrence of alternative stable states is valuable, any appare...

N. W. H. Mason, J. B. Wilson and J. B. Steel argue that there is no logical conceptual basis, and no empirical data, to support an association between environmental adversity and the occurrence of alternative stable states. While we agree that robust debate on the relative frequency of occurrence of alternative stable states is valuable, any appare...

T. Fukami and W. G. Lee argue that the logical expectation from ecological theory is that competitively-structured assemblages will be more likely to exhibit alternative stable states than abiotically-structured assemblages. We suggest that there are several important misinterpretations in their arguments, and that the substance of their hypothesis...

Heightening human impacts on the Earth result in widespread losses of production and conservation values and make large-scale ecosystem restoration increasingly urgent. Tackling this problem requires the development of general guiding principles for restoration so that we can move away from the ad hoc, site- and situation-specific approach that now...

Clear-fell harvesting has large aesthetic impacts and significantly alters ecosystem attributes at multiple spa- tial scales. Known abiotic changes include increased microclimatic variability, changes in regional water balance, and modified hydrological patterns that influence erosion processes. Biotic changes include increased species richness im-...

We explore the issues relevant to those types of ecosystems containing new combinations of species that arise through human action, environmental change, and the impacts of the deliberate and inadvertent introduction of species from other regions. Novel ecosystems (also termed ‘emerging ecosystems’) result when species occur in combinations and rel...

This study investigated the effects of different management inputs (fertiliser and seed) and grazing patterns on plant biodiversity in a short tussock grassland with a strong Hieracium pilosella component. Cover abundance of vascular and non-vascular plants and environmental variables were measured in 32 10×10-m plots located in five blocks with di...

The relationships between crown and stem dimensions of trees in two South Island, New Zealand, natural forests were investigated to determine whether they might explain differences in tree species composition estimates based on canopy area and basal area. Dacrydium cupressinum, a common canopy emergent at the lowland podocarp forest site, had the s...

Suding et al. (2004) demonstrate how conceptual advances in alternative ecosystem states theory have led to a greater understanding of why degraded systems are often resilient to restoration management. In their review they pose one (of several) ‘outstanding’ questions (Box 3 in Suding et al. 2004): “Are there predictable characteristics that indic...

The factors leading to the presumed extinction of Trilepidea adamsii (Cheesem) Tiegh., an endemic New Zealand mistletoe, are discussed Although several factors are involved, including habitat loss, overcollecting, reduced seed dispersal, and browsing by the brush tailed possum (Tri-chosurus vulpecula Kerr.), interactions among these factors appear...

Kunzea sinclairii is a local endemic on Great Barrier Island, northeastern New Zealand. While variously ranked as vulnerable and endangered in the past, we show that this species is naturally uncommon and under no threat of extinction. Previous assessments of its conservation status have been based on inadequate knowledge of its ecology. K. sinclai...

A reappraisal of the conservation status of the indigenous New Zealand vascular plant flora is presented. The list comprises 792 taxa (34% of New Zealand's total indigenous vascular flora) in the following categories: Extinct 4 taxa, Acutely Threatened 122 taxa (comprising 47 taxa Nationally Critical, 54 Nationally Endangered, 21 Nationally Vulnera...

A Forestry Roundtable meeting, convened at Marysville in Central Victoria from August to September 2002, to explore issues associated with improvement of the management of Victoria's montane ash forests, is presented. The objectives of the meeting are to provide a forum for stakeholders to engage in constructive dialogue about approaches to forest...

The assessment of ecological significance is a key part of a territorial local authority’s (TLA) responsibility to provide for the protection of areas of significant indigenous vegetation and significant habitats of indigenous fauna as required under Section 6(c) of the Resource Management Act (RMA) 1991. While a number of methods have been used to...

A new species, Coprosma fowerakeri, is described from alpine habitats of the South Island, New Zealand. Previously included within C. pseudocuneata, it is distinguished by its low spreading habit; stout, recurved lateral branches that often root on contact with soil; fleshy-coriaceous, almost succulent, dark green to bronze-green leaves; conspicuou...

Fire plays an important role in structuring wetland ecosystems, but previous studies of New Zealand wetlands have lacked adequate experimental controls. We investigated the effects of fire on the vegetation of a New Zealand peat bog through analysis of microclimate patterns, vegetation change, and peat stratigraphy. We focused on the role of fire i...

Fire plays an important role in structuring wetland ecosystems, but previous studies of New Zealand wetlands have lacked adequate experimental controls. We investigated the effects of fire on the vegetation of a New Zealand peat bog through analysis of microclimate patterns, vegetation change, and peat stratigraphy. We focused on the role of fire i...

We agree with Williams' (2003) response to our previous paper (Dungan et al., 2002) whereby data is presented in support of the contention that we overstated our argument that possums may be the only dispersal vector for large-seeded native New Zealand species. We contend that this does not alter our overall conclusions, but agree that additional w...

The influence of host genotypes (provenances) on mistletoe establishment, or the susceptibility of different host provenances to mistletoe infection, has not previously been documented. We quantified the germination and establishment of two New Zealand mistletoes [ Alepis flavida (Hook. f.) Tiegh. and Peraxilla tetrapetala (L. f.) Tiegh.] on differ...

Germination of Sophora seeds 24–40 years old from New Zealand (8 species), Chile (2 species), Lord Howe Island (1 species), and Hawai’i (1 species), and of fresh seed from trees established using seeds from the same seed lots, was assessed. Germination was rapid for most seed lots, with, on average, fresh seed having high germination (77– 94%) and...

Two process-based models were used to identify the environmental variables limiting productivity in a pristine, mature forest dominated by rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum Sol. ex Lamb.) trees in South Westland, New Zealand. A model of canopy net carbon uptake, incorporating routines for radiation interception, photosynthesis and water balance was used...

1. We quantify the degree of host specificity for the five extant New Zealand loranthaceous mistletoes (Alepis flavida, Ileostylus micranthus, Peraxilla colensoi, Peraxilla tetrapetala and Tupeia antarctica). 2. Host specificity is highest for A. flavida, P. colensoi and P. tetrapetala which primarily parasitize species of Nothofagus, and lowest fo...

To test the possibility that the development of mycorrhizas in seedlings may be limited under shaded conditions, arbuscular mycorrhizal colonisation was measured in gap and understorey seedlings from mixed podocarp/angiosperm forests in North Okarito, south Westland, and Blue Duck Scientific Reserve, Marlborough, New Zealand. Mean percentage coloni...

Loranthaceous mistletoes are interesting because of their complex dependence on suitable host trees and avian dispersers and because of their patchy distribution at the landscape level. Although their over- and under-abundance in Australia and New Zealand have been widely documented, little attention has been given to the need for an ecosystem appr...

The success of restoration plantings in restoring indigenous forest vascular plant and ground invertebrate biodiversity was assessed on previously grass-covered sites in the eastern South Island, New Zealand. The composition and structure of grassland, three different aged restoration plantings (12, 30, and 35 years old), a naturally regenerating f...

The contribution of seeds and fruit to the diet of the introduced brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) was examined in seral vegetation in lowland Canterbury, New Zealand. Fruit and seeds comprised c. 70% of total possum diet, and possums contributed 17% of the dispersed seed rain for the period of our study. The effect of gut passage on germin...

The management of indigenous conifer forests in Westland, South Island, New Zealand has focussed largely on harvest of the Podocarpaceae tree rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum). Today, key management objectives are to maintain the pre-harvested state of the forest in terms of biomass, tree size ranges (especially old trees), natural spatial patterns, rel...

While important advances have been made in recovering threatened species and restoring damaged habitats on offshore islands, effective conservation management is also required on the main (North and South) islands if representative elements of New Zealand's remaining biodiversity are to be protected. The recent initiation of Mainland Island project...

Patterns in vegetation and seed rain were measured in an abandoned agricultural scrubland/ forest system in lowland Canterbury to test relationships between patterns of seed rain and succession in seral scrub and established low forest. Indicator species analysis separated four distinct vegetation types which formed a successional chronosequence co...

By summarising ecological publications over the last 30 years, this paper provides an assessment of the amount and focus of New Zealand ecological research with respect to land tenure. While the number of published articles that deal with private land has increased over the last 30 years, the majority of New Zealand ecological research publications...

A new, endemic species Atriplex hollowayi (Chenopodiaceae) is described from the North Island, New Zealand. It is distinguished from the Australasian A. billardierei by its smaller stature; sturdy, erect, heavily branched shrub habit; distinctly irregular sinuate‐dentate leaves; weakly fused chartaceous bracteoles; and smaller seeds. A detailed des...

Summary For the 70% of New Zealand under private ownership, native biodiversity conservation has to occur within a landscape that must also provide a productive return to land owners. Recent New Zealand legislation, especially the Resource Management Act 1991, promotes sustainable management on private land by allowing for the economic and cultural...

A reappraisal of the conservation status of New Zealand's threatened and uncommon vascu-lar plants is presented. The list comprises 511 taxa (22% of New Zealand's indigenous vascular flora) in the following categories: Presumed Extinct 5 taxa, Threatened 107 taxa (comprising 24 taxa Critically Endangered, 33 taxa Endangered, 50 taxa Vulnerable), De...

Abstract This study investigated the impacts of livestock grazing on native plant species cover, litter cover, soil surface condition, surface soil physical and chemical properties, surface soil hydrology, and near ground and soil microclimate in remnant Eucalyptus salmonophloia F. Muell woodlands. Vegetation and soil surveys were undertaken in thr...

Habitat fragmentation is one of the most ubiquitous and serious environmental threats confronting the long-term survival of plant and animal species worldwide. As species become restricted to remnant habitats, effective management for long-term conservation requires a quantitative understanding of the genetic and demographic effects of habitat frag...

A reappraisal of the conservation status of New Zealand's threatened and uncommon vascular plants is presented. The list comprises 511 taxa (22% of New Zealand's indigenous vascular flora) in the following categories: Presumed Extinct 5 taxa, Threatened 107 taxa (comprising 24 taxa Critically Endangered, 33 taxa Endangered, 50 taxa Vulnerable), Dec...

A reappraisal of the conservation status of the indigenous New Zealand vascular plant flora is presented. The list comprises 792 taxa (34% of New Zealand’s total indigenous vascular flora) in the following categories: Extinct 4 taxa, Acutely Threatened 122 taxa (comprising 47 taxa Nationally Critical, 54 Nationally Endangered, 21 Nationally Vulnera...

In this paper we document the role of Phormium tenax as a nurse plant in unimproved pasture. We show that for our study area the regeneration of woody species was limited solely to P. tenax clumps with 22 native and one introduced regenerating woody species present. The number of woody species and of individual woody plants regenerating within P. t...

A new combination, Hebe paludosa, is made for plants first described as Veronica salicifolia var . paludosa and later treated as Hebe salicifolia var . paludosa. H. paludosa is typically a plant o f lowland mesotrophic wetlands and is most abundant in south Westland around and immediately north o f the glaciers district . H. paludosa is readily dis...

Hand planted seeds of the mistletoe Alepis flavida establish much better on small Nothofagus solandri branches (<5 mm diameter: 48.4% establishment after one year) than on large branches (20-30 mm: 6.1%), whereas intermediate sized branches have intermediate establishment rates (10 mm: 21.6%). Wild 1-4-year-old Alepis flavida seedlings occurred on...

Recent research on parasite evolution has highlighted the importance of host specialization in speciation, either through host-switching or cospeciation. Many parasites show common patterns of host specificity, with higher host specificity where host abundance is high and reliable, phylogenetically conservative host specificity, and formation of ra...

This paper evaluates how rarity as a concept can be best applied as a concept in the conservation of threatened plants, and specifically addresses the question of how we can best classify rare or uncommon plants. We show that the concept of rarity has spatial, temporal, and knowledge components, and that any discussion of rarity must be made with r...

Abstract Advice is given on the impact to native trees of taking tree cores for research

Hebe cupressoides is an endemic shrub of the rain-shadow eastern mountains of New Zealand's South Island where it is a component of shrubland communities on recent surfaces such as alluvial terraces and colluvial slumps. While Hebe cupressoides is grown in cultivation, the range of this species in the wild has declined dramatically this century and...

We investigated a variety of non-destructive measures as potential predictors of mistletoe age as determined anatomically for three mistletoe species, Alepis flavida, Ileostylus micranthus, and Tupeia antarctica. We show that the diameter of the host stem immediately below the haustorial attachment is consistently the best predictor of mistletoe ag...

Our results confirm the findings of an earlier study that suggested niche partitioning in the way Alepis flavida and Peraxilla tetrapetala utilise the available resources within the Nothofagus solandri canopy; Alepis flavida is almost exclusively an outer branch parasite while Peraxilla tetrapetala occurs most often on inner branches and the host t...

Six of the eight indigenous New Zealand Lepidium species are coastal, and have restricted or reduced distributions. One is extinct and the remainder are considered threatened with extinction. This limited distribution is in marked contrast to their apparent abundance in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries (1760s–1830s). Accounts from the...

This study investigated the impacts of livestock grazing on native plant species cover, litter cover, soil surface hydrology, and near ground and soil microclimate in remnant Eucalyptus salmonophloia F.Muell woodlands. Vegetation and soil surveys were undertaken in three woodlands with a history of regular grazing and in three woodlands with a hist...

The loranthaceous mistletoes of New Zealand have long been recognised as attractive, unusual and valued components of our forest flora. Few people will forget the sight of a beech (Nothofagus) forest at the height of summer when the beech mistletoes Alepi