Dynamics of southern beech (Nothofagaceae) stands in the lowland North Island of New Zealand

Abstract

ABSTRACT In south-central Chile, the dynamics of southern beech (Nothofagaceae) stands vary predictably along climatic gradients. Beeches form persistent stands at high elevations, but their establishment on lowland sites depends mainly on catastrophic disturbances. In New Zealand, nearly all studies of beech forest dynamics to date have reported all-sized, persistent populations. However, previous work has focused largely on the South Island or on North Island mountains, where beeches are widespread and often dominant. Little is known about beech dynamics in the warm North Island lowlands, where beeches are less common. We aimed to clarify the circumstances that enable beeches to establish on lowland sites in the North Island. We measured population structures of beeches and associated species on 11 plots distributed across a range of climate, lithology and topography. On sites where the most shade-tolerant broadleaved trees were absent or uncommon, all-sized populations showed that beech regeneration did not depend on major disturbances. These stands were located mostly on steep faces or ridges with soil carbon:nitrogen ratios > 18, usually with ericaceous understoreys. On sites with higher N availability, where shade-tolerant broadleaved trees were abundant, beech populations were generally sparser, with restricted age ranges. One of these ± even-aged beech stands appeared to have established after windthrow, the other four after fires. Recent dieback of Weinmannia racemosa associated with insect attack had resulted in another wave of beech regeneration in one of the post-fire stands. Establishment on landslides appears to only rarely enable beeches to capture new sites in the lowland North Island. We conclude that beeches form stable self-replacing stands on lowland North Island sites with low nitrogen availability, but that exogenous disturbances occasionally enable beeches to establish as pioneers on sites with higher nitrogen availability. The early successionalrole commonly seen in lowland south-central Chile thus appears less widespread in New Zealand.