Vegetation of the pureora mountain ecological area West Taupo, New Zealand

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Abstract
The vegetation pattern of the Pureora Mountain Ecological Area is described using both ordination and classification techniques. Data were collected from systematically located plots on which species abundance was estimated in tiers using modified Daubenmire cover values. The principal direction of floristic change identified by indirect ordination is highly correlated with altitude, and extends from submontane conifer-broadleaved forest to subalpine shrub-mossfield. A secondary axis of floristic change at lower altitude is associated mainly with local variation in topography. Fourteen vegetation units, reflecting variation along these two axes, have been identified and mapped using large scale aerial photographs. A comparison of vegetation on Pureora Mountain with that of other similar North Island areas suggests that both the pattern and flora reflect not only current site factors, but also the effects of the Taupo eruption of approximately 1820 BP.