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1974 - 197911980 - 19821

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Beech

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    The germination, growth and survival of beech (Nothofagus fusca) seedlings in relation to forest regeneration : a thesis for the degree of Master of Science in Botany at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1974) June, Selwyn
    The population structures of three stands of red beech forest in the N.W.Ruahine Range are described. Seedling establishment, growth and survival is studied by means of tagged seedlings in permanent plots. Three microsite types are identified, the rotting wood microsite being the most favourable for seedling growth and survival. No seedlings survive under the extensive fern layer. Light compensation points for 1st year seedlings are 1.9% and 3.9%. Light intensities in some microsites are below the compensation point. Seedlings have established at least every 2-3 years in the past and seedling establishment is not solely dependent on the occasional mast seed years. A model combining estimates of densities, survival rates and mortality rates predicts that the size of the seedling population will be maintained. Regeneration appears to be effective only in the ridge-top stand. Large canopy gaps containing few saplings and seedlings occur in all stands. Seedling numbers are limited by the availability of suitable microsites and this in turn reduces the rate of regeneration.
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    Island biogeography : a study of habitat islands of mountain beech forest (Nothofagus solandri, var. cliffortioides) in Tongariro National Park : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science in Zoology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1982) Seden, Moyra
    MacArthur and Wilson's (1967) model for island biogeography is examined, particularly with regard to the proposed species-area relationship. The first chapter includes a consideration of the theoretical background. Nine habitat islands and corresponding mainland regions of similar area were selected. All the sites possess a canopy of mountain beech trees, (Nothofagus solandri var. cliffortioides), and are located in the western segment of Tongariro National Park. Plants and litter animals were sampled from within these sites to determine the possible relationship between species and area. Forest plant species numbers as well as proportions, assessed using a modification of the Point-centred quarter method, revealed a statistically significant species-area relationship. Litter Crustacea collected in one thousandth of a square metre core samples, and removed from cores by wet extraction, show a gradation in habitat preference, hence a species-area relationship cannot be determined. A wide range of animals collected in pitfall traps appear also not to produce a significant species-area relationship. Possible reasons for the obscurity of such a relationship are considered. An overall assessment of the information gathered in the light of island biogeographic theory is presented, and some more recent thought on the causal explanations for the species-area relationship are discussed.