The Araucaria Forests of New Guinea and Their Regenerative Capacity

Abstract

Although araucarias feature prominently in the exploratory accounts of Gibbs (1917), Lane-Poole (1925), Archbold & Rand (1935), Archbold, Rand & Brass (1942) and Brass (1956, 1959), the first discussion of their ecological status is that of Womersley (1958). Womersley considered the araucarian stands to be living fossil vegetation which is in process of being swamped by broad-leaved forest, as evidenced by their apparently even-aged nature. He looked on these stands as the outcome of a past catastrophe which removed the broad-leaved competitors, supporting his hypothesis by the observation that logged-over stands usually need to be replaced by even-aged plantations, because natural regeneration is inadequate. Similar ideas were advanced for New Zealand gymnosperms by Robbins (1962) and for Australian and New Caledonian araucarias by Aubreville (1965a, b), who stressed the light-demanding nature of the genus, which limits adequate regeneration to forest margins and open forest types. Aubr6ville also considered seed destruction by animals and aborigines and damage to young trees by fire and frost as additional limiting factors.