New Zealand Journal of Botany abstracts

---

Population dynamics of subalpine Libocedrus bidwillii forests in the Cropp River Valley, Westland, New Zealand

DA. NORTON

Department of Botany, University of Canterbury Private Bag, Christchurch, New Zealand

Abstract Factors influencing the population dynamics of subalpine Libocedrus bidwillii forests are discussed. Within the 4 stands studied the distributions of trees among different size-classes are dissimilar. Other studies also report dissimilar patterns and it seems that L. bidwillii normally regenerates intermittently. This intermittent regeneration is explained in terms of initiation of regeneration after disturbance by infrequent, large-scale, catastrophic events (e.g., windthrow, mass movement) and/or more frequent, smaller-scale, gap-forming events. Release of established seedlings after small-scale forest disturbance is considered an important means of forest regeneration.

Keywords Libocedrus bidwillii; population dynamics; disturbance processes; regeneration patterns; subalpine forest; gymnosperm forest; West-land, New Zealand; New Zealand flora

Received 8 June 1982; revision 20 December 1982
New Zealand Journal of Botany, 1983, Vol. 21 : 127-134
0028-825X/83/2102-0127$2.50/0 © Crown copyright 1983

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (1021K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

---

This year's abstracts | Journal home page | All abstracts | Publishing home page