Green forest is easy on the eye; it breaks the harshness of roads and buildings and adds interest to farmland and mountain slopes. In its sanctuary, birdsong and air currents play with your auditory senses and aromas of nectar; decayed logs and leaves fill the air.
A podocarp forest at Lake Matheson
After a long absence from New Zealand, I decided to reacquaint myself with the types of forests found in the Land of the Long White Cloud. In this article, I have based the forest communities on categories from The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network: Beech forest, Podocarp/broadleaved forest and Kauri podocarp/broadleaved forest.
An introduction
New Zealand is in a temperate zone, located between the Antarctic Circle and the Tropic of Capricorn. However, it is also in the path of the roaring forties, a strong westerly wind circling the globe, between the latitudes of 40 and 50 degrees. Etched by fiords, mountain ranges, volcanoes, plains, plateaus and just over 15,000km of coastline, it shapes a diverse landscape.
An etched landscape
Over time, plants have evolved and adapted to this landscape and climate. The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network estimate there are approximately 2,362 native species of flowering plants, conifers, ferns and club mosses.
Other types of native mosses, liverworts, hornworts and lichens make up approximately another 3,480 plants. These estimates change as scientists discover more plants or re-evaluate them. Most plants are evergreen, with about (still counting) 28 deciduous species.
Beech forest
“I like how a montane beech forest defines a distinct line across mountain slopes and the excitement you feel when you emerge into the alpine zone”.
Beech forest at Speargrass Creek, Nelson Lakes National Park
Found on hilly and mountainous country, almost half of New Zealand's remaining forest is pure beech. All the beech species are found in the North and South Island.
Their distribution is dependent on latitude, altitude, soils and climate.
- In the mountains and on drier sites, a beech forest understory is more open with mosses and usually some fern and shrub species.
- Where moist and milder conditions exist, or the soils are more fertile, the understory species increase.
Beech forest and podocarp/broadleaved forest do mix and are found in the North and South island. They are often in transition zones from podocarp/broadleaf to beech.
The five species of beech are classified as lowland and montane.
Hard Beech - Grows up to 24 to 30 metres. Reaches the most northerly of all the beeches and extends to the northern region of the South Island. It grows in lowland areas, and in some places, it grows with Kauri.
Red Beech - Grows up to 24 to 30 metres. Prefers deep fertile and well-drained soil. Grows on river terraces and up to mid-slope. It is the largest of all the species and often grows with silver beech.
Black Beech - Grows up to 20 to 25 metres, found in lowland areas and as far north as the Hauraki Gulf. It prefers poor drought-prone soils. It tolerates low rainfall.
Silver Beech - Grows up to 20 to 25 metres. It can grow with mountain beech at high altitudes but requires wetter conditions. It is slower growing than other beeches. Tolerates high rainfall.
Mountain Beech - Grows up to 15 to 20 metres and grows the highest altitude of all the beeches. It is the smallest beech and can be reduced to 45cm on exposed sites.
Although the generic name of Nothofagus is still used, revised studies have given the following generic names to the Nothofagaceae family. Hard Beech, Fuscospora truncata, Red Beech, Fuscospora fusca, Black Beech, Fuscospora solandri, Silver Beech, Lophozonia menziesii, Mountain Beech, Fuscospora cliffortioides.
Podocarp broadleaved forest
Found in lowland and coastal areas throughout New Zealand, this forest type has a variety of plants. It often looks and feels like a tropical rainforest. The podocarps are conifers that bear fruit.
The podocarp family do not have true woody cones. The broadleafs are flowering evergreen trees. When mature, this mixed forest type has five layers of plants. The tallest are called emergent trees and are mostly podocarps.
Podocarp forest with layers
Emergent podocarps
Kahikateas
Kahikatea can grow up to 65 metres and is New Zealand’s tallest tree. It grows in lowland forests, floodplains, swamps and waterlogged soil. A tree in Paengaroa Scenic Reserve is estimated to be 716 years old.
Rimus
Rimu can grow up to 60 metres tall. It is slow growing and can live to 900 years old. It grows in lowland and montane areas up to 600 metres. It usually grows with other podocarps and is often the dominant tree.
Totara
Totara can grow up to 30 metres tall. It grows in lowland, montane and subalpine regions. It can live for 1,000 years or longer.
Other emergent podocarps are:
Miro can grow up to 25 metres tall. It grows in lowland and montane forests up to 1,000 metres. It can live for 500 years or more.
Matai can grow up to 30 metres tall. It grows in lowland forest and often grows in drier climates where alluvial river banks flood in winter and are dry in summer. A tree in Paengaroa Scenic Reserve is estimated to be 1,358 years old.
The Understory
In a mature broadleaf forest, the second layer is dense and made up of trees, such as tawa, taraire, kamahi, beech, and kohekohe. This provides shade and protection for the lower layers. The third layer includes plants like fuchsia, wineberry and nikau palms.
The other layers are made up of shrubs, ferns, vines, grasses and mosses. Enhancing the atmosphere of these forests, epiphytes (plants growing on or attached to other plants) cover trunks and branches. As you travel further south, the climate becomes cooler and the complexity of the forest changes, with some species disappearing.
Some other common broadleaf species.
Stinkwood, Hupiro, Wineberry-Makomako, Kohuhu, Lancewood-Horoeka
Kauri podocarp broadleaved forest
Preferring a warmer climate these forests range from Northland to the Coromandel Peninsula. Today only small pockets of kauri remain due to past logging, burning and farming. In a mature Kauri forest, the understory canopy can include species you find in a Podocarp broadleaved forest such as mountain totara, rimu, northern rata, tawa and miro.
Other layers may include nikau palms, vines, ferns, epiphytes and different shrubs such as coprosma, lancewood, mapou, and heketara species. In addition, kauri grass and giant sedge (Ghania spp) are common ground species in the forest.
Kauri Tree at Parry Kauri Park near Warkworth
Kauri trees can live for 2,000 years or more. They produce woody cones and grow up to 30 metres tall, although they can reach 60 metres. Their trunk diameter averages three metres but can be as big as seven metres.
Waipoua Forest, Northland
In Waipoua Kauri Sanctuary Tāne Mahuta, 'Lord of the Forest' is the largest (by volume) tree in New Zealand. Te Matua Ngahere, 'Father of the Forest' is the oldest remaining kauri in New Zealand and is estimated to be 2,000 years old.
The older kauri trees will have a variety of plants growing in their canopies, which provides a home for insects, lizards and visiting birds.
PHOTO CREDITS
A podocarp forest at Lake Matheson, Image by Mrogex, "Lake Matheson just after sunrise", Wikimedia Commons, (CC BY-SA 3.0), An etched landscape, Image by Phil Capper, "Inland and seaward Kaikouras and Clarence River mouth, (Levels adjustment and sharpened) (CC BY 4.0), Inside a mountain beech forest, Image by Pseudopanax at English Wikipedia, "Snow on beech forest floor, Mt Robert" Public Domain via Wikimedia, Understory of lower sloped beech forest, Image by Travelwayoflife, "Beech Forest" (CC BY 4.0), Podocarp forest with layers, Image by Pseudopanax at English Wikipedia, "Oparara River, Kahurangi National Park, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons, Kahikatea, Image by Pseudopanax at en. wikipedia " Arohaki Lagoon Whirinaki Forest Park,near Rotorua, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons, Tall Rimus, Image by Pseudopanax at en wikipedia, "Mature rimu trees at Karapoti Gorge" Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons, Totara, Image by Kahuroa, "Totara, Podocarpus totara, Auckland", Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons, Nikau, Image by Pseudopanax at en. wikipedia, "Forest of Nikau Palms in Nikau Reserve, Parparaumu", Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons, Ponga, Image by Akos Kokai, "Silver Tree Fern, Ponga Cyathea dealbata," (CC BY 4.0), Kauri Tree at Parry Kauri Park near Warkworth, Image by itravelNZ, "Parry Kauri Park, The Simpson Kauri" (CC BY 4.0), Waipoua Forest Northland, Image by brewbooks, "Waipoua Forest", (CC BY-SA-4.0)
A podocarp forest at Lake Matheson, Image by Mrogex, "Lake Matheson just after sunrise", Wikimedia Commons, (CC BY-SA 3.0), An etched landscape, Image by Phil Capper, "Inland and seaward Kaikouras and Clarence River mouth, (Levels adjustment and sharpened) (CC BY 4.0), Inside a mountain beech forest, Image by Pseudopanax at English Wikipedia, "Snow on beech forest floor, Mt Robert" Public Domain via Wikimedia, Understory of lower sloped beech forest, Image by Travelwayoflife, "Beech Forest" (CC BY 4.0), Podocarp forest with layers, Image by Pseudopanax at English Wikipedia, "Oparara River, Kahurangi National Park, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons, Kahikatea, Image by Pseudopanax at en. wikipedia " Arohaki Lagoon Whirinaki Forest Park,near Rotorua, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons, Tall Rimus, Image by Pseudopanax at en wikipedia, "Mature rimu trees at Karapoti Gorge" Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons, Totara, Image by Kahuroa, "Totara, Podocarpus totara, Auckland", Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons, Nikau, Image by Pseudopanax at en. wikipedia, "Forest of Nikau Palms in Nikau Reserve, Parparaumu", Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons, Ponga, Image by Akos Kokai, "Silver Tree Fern, Ponga Cyathea dealbata," (CC BY 4.0), Kauri Tree at Parry Kauri Park near Warkworth, Image by itravelNZ, "Parry Kauri Park, The Simpson Kauri" (CC BY 4.0), Waipoua Forest Northland, Image by brewbooks, "Waipoua Forest", (CC BY-SA-4.0)