Succession Following Fire in Cold Temperate Forests of the Southern Tararua Mountains

Abstract

(I) The Problem and Scope of Work:- In August 1947, in typical Tararua North-West rain and mist, I tramped through an area of scrub around Mt. Reeves (910m alt.) in the Southern Tararuas. The area had been burnt many years before. In the limited visibility from the track there was little sign of regeneration of the original silver beech forest of the area on exposed North-West faces above about 800m. Hence the first problems, why was the beech not regenerating and what was the vegetation that had replaced it, at least temporarily? The scope of the work was widened when it was realised that two nearby ridges, at similar altitudes, had been burnt more recently; one, the Quoin in February 1947, and the other, the Marchant, in January 1938. The possibility then of following the succession through its earlier stages seemed as if it would give some lead to information about the later stages.