New Zealand Journal of Botany abstracts

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The Forests and Shrublands of the Seaward Kaikoura Range

J. Wardle

Forest Range Experiment Station,
Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forest Research Institute, Rangiora

Abstract The forests and shrublands of the Seaward Kaikoura Range are classified into eight associations: coastal scrub-hardwood forest, mixed podocarp forest, Hall's totara forest, sub-alpine scrub, beech forest, mixed scrub-hardwood forest, Leptospermum forest and scrub, and bluff scrub. The composition, structure, and habitat of each are described, and an indication is given of how each is being modified by the introduced mammals (red deer, goats, chamois, and opossums). Distribution of the first four of these associations is related mainly to changes in altitude. Coastal scrub-hardwood forest occurs below 1,000 ft altitude. Mixed podocarp forest forms a belt above it, and in turn gives way to Hall's totara forest. Hall's totara forms a fire-modified timberline between 3,000 and 3,400 ft. The sub-alpine scrub above timberline has been severely modified by fire and discontinuous patches of it occur up to 4,500 ft. Beech forest is most important at the northern and southern ends of the range. It occupies a wide altitudinal range from 200 to 3,000 ft and may be dominated by mountain beech, red beech, or black beech. The mixed scrub-hardwood and Leptospermum associations are usually serai. The scrub-hardwood occurs on eroded sites and the Leptospermum on old fire scars and terraces. The bluff association occupies only very steep slopes but at a wide range of altitude. Several of the physiognomic species in it are endemic to the vicinity of the Seaward Kaikoura Range. The two scrub-hardwood associations are undergoing major changes in composition as a result of browsing by introduced mammals. The physiognomic species in each are favoured fodder and very susceptible to damage by browsing. The mixed scrub-hardwood forest is unlikely to regenerate if animal pressure is maintained at the present level.

(Received 14 September 1970) New Zealand Journal of Botany 9: 269-92.

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