Nature & Co New Zealand - Forests of Tongariro National Park

FOREST
COVER

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Vegetation and ecology of Tongariro National Park

Patchy beech forest,
tussock and wetlands
on the west side of Ruapehu.
In The Fold of the Land.

"The forest cover on the western slopes of Mt Ruapehu is patchy, the beech forest sometimes appearing as 'islands' within the red tussocklands and wetlands. The area has probably been swept with fires in earlier times and forest re-establishment inhibited because of the bogginess of much of the landscpae. Drainage is often impeded where there is a sharp change in soil texture, as can occur when a coarse tephra (such as Taupo Pumice) lies on finer tephras (such as the Tongariro Ashes)". Legend from the Fold of the Land.

"The mature forest on the southern and south-western slopes of Mt Ruapehu contrasts with the low stature of the vegetation around the rest of the southern group of volcanoes. These forests, in the lee of Hauhungatahi and Ruapehu, were sheltered from the hot pyroclastic flow of pumice from the Taupo eruption vent which burnt most of the existing forest 1800 years ago". Quoted from The Fold of the Land.

Extensive podocarp and beech forest
on Ruapehu's southern side.
In Roots of Fire.
Photo by Lloyd Homer