Ecology ofNothofagus menziesiiin the Catlins Ecological Region South-east Otago, New Zealand (III) growth and population structure

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Nothofagus menziesii growth rate and population structure were studied in the Catlins Ecological Region. Most N. menziesii seedlings either exceeded 35 cm in height by 13 years or had died. A small proportion of suppressed seedlings persisted at less than 35 cm tall for up to 25 years. Diameter and age of stems larger than 10 cm d.b.h. were poorly correlated. Diameter growth rate variation, from 0.30 to 8.52 mm yr-1, was similar over the range of N. menziesii in the study area. Population structures showed continuous regeneration, except at low altitudes and on relatively fertile soils. At some sites, the other main tree species showed less stable population structures, a higher proportion of dead stems, or smaller basal area, in Nothofagus forest than in adjacent forest. It was concluded that N. menziesii forest has a continuously regenerating population, and is expanding its range in the Catlins at the expense of adjacent forest lacking N. menziesii, except on relatively warm and fertile sites.

This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit: