The Vegetation of the Lowry Bay Reservoir Catchment, Hutt County

Abstract

The present vegetation of a catchment in Lowry Bay (eastern shore of Port Nicholson) is described, and the history of the vegetation from 1839 to 1964 is outlined. Fire has been the only significant disruptive agency; the summer seasons in which fire probably occurred in the Catchment are deduced, based solely on evidence gathered from ring counting of selected plants in the present vegetation. Thirteen separate fires during the last 100 years have been identified, and fires before then are grouped together. Reliable proof that the predicted season of fire was correct has subsequently been obtained for two fires. No other evidence, either in support or disagreement, has been obtained. The vegetation pattern is primarily related to the variation in the present topography and S.P.M. (soil parent material). This latter variation has resulted from an alternation of landscape-forming processes in the Wellington district during, and subsequent to, the Pleistocene glaciation.