A 54-year-old Southland man has been charged with allegedly poisoning more than 200 trees on a public reserve.

Money from the tree harvesting, which has now been hampered, was supposed to go towards the local community, police said.

The trees were initially planted to beautify the area.

The community in Tuatapere, about 50km from Invercargill, helped police find the man allegedly responsible for the crime.

 “The Tuatapere public ... provided information which led to a search warrant being executed and property relating to the poisoning being discovered,” Otautau Sergeant Chris Maguire said.

The Tuatapere resident will appear in the Invercargill District Court on criminal damage charges later this month.