White Pine Bush & an alluvial kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides) forest remnant, eastern Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

Abstract

White Pine Bush, an alluvial forest remnant in the eastern Bay of Plenty, North Island, New Zealand, comprises scattered Dacrycarpus dacrydioides emergent above angiosperm layers dominated by Beilschmiedta tawa and Melicytus ramiflorus ssp. ramiflorus. Composition of the more extensive pre-European forest reflected the soil pattern. Podocarpus spicatus in particular being confined to well-drained, sandy soils. At least one previous forest community, a dense pole podocarp stand, has occupied the site, dated at c. 2000 years B.P. The limited evidence available suggests that the present Daerycarpus population may derive largely from mass recruitment 300 or more years ago|current replacement is largely ineffective. In the absence of further major flooding and siltation, a forest increasingly dominated by angiosperms is likely to evolve. A floristic list is appended.

Key Words:

• kahikatea
• Dacrycarpus dacrydioides
• alIuvial forest
• vegetation history
• Bay of Plenty, New Zealand