Flora and Vegetation of Pureora M. D. Wilcox The Auckland Botanical Society held an Easter Camp 2 5 April 1999 based at Pureora Lodge in the northern block of Pureora Forest Park 20 km east of Benneydale. Those who took part were: Enid Asquith Graeme Hambly Helen Lyons Stella Rowe Mike Wilcox Paul Asquith John Hobbs Morag Macdonald Pat Seyb Nancy Wilcox Daphne Blackshaw Val Hollard Simon OConnor Shirley Smith Pam Wilcox Quentin Blackshaw Marcel Horvath Helen Preston Jones Alison Wesley David Wilson Lisa Clapperton Frank Hudson Roslyn Prichard Barbara White Catherine Yong Brian Cumber Wyne Johns Juliet Richmond Bob White Maureen Young Colleen Foster John Jordan John Rowe BOTANICAL PROGRAMME Seven sites were visited and studied. These were : • Frost flats and valley of the Karamarama Stream a headwater of the Waipapa River adjoining the Pureora Lodge Waipapa Ecological Area Forest Walk Mire complex of Waipapa Ecological Area Pureora Mountain Totara Walk Buried Forest and Pikiariki tower area Waimiha Stream bog pine reserve A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO PUREORA Pureora Forest Park is administered by the carried out at Pureora on forest regeneration and Department of Conservation (DOC) and covers an selection logging (Beveridge 1964 1973 1983; area of 78 OOO hectares in the northern King Country. Herbert 1978 1980 1986; Smale et al. 1987 1998). It is an amalgamation of the former Wharepuhunga Selection logging was tried on a small scale at Tihoi Pouakani Pureora Hurakia Tihoi Taringamotu and and Pouakani for a short period before logging was Waituhi State Forests. Several Ecological Areas finally stopped altogether. (Mangatutu Waipapa Pikiariki Waimonoa Rata nunui Maramataha Nga Morehu Pureora Mountain The main geographic features which have shaped the Waihaha Whenuakura) have been designated within vegetation at Pureora are the inland elevated locality the Park representative of all the major vegetation with generally abundant moisture (180 rain days types (Nicholls 1978). 1850 mm per year) and with frequent frosts on flat or depressed sites and the volcanic pumice deposits Logging of the dense podocarp forests in the former from the Taupo eruptions 1700 years ago (Druce Pureora State Forest itself commenced in 1945 and 1952 McKelvey 1953 1963). As pointed out by ceased in 1978 when a moratorium was imposed on Hessell (1986) Pureora is about as far away from the further logging following protests. Local sawmills sea as one can get in New Zealand. The climate at converted the logs into timber to meet the needs of Pureora has evidently got milder in the last 40 years the large state housing projects. Such was the to the point that the regular harsh frosts of the past density of the stands of rimu {Dacrydium now rarely occur allowing the accelerated cupressinum) matai {Prumnopitys taxifolia) and encroachment of natural forest margins on to what totara {Podocarpus totara) at Pureora that the forest were once frost prone scrublands. was more or less clearfelled during logging. The Auckland Botanical Society has had at least three A form of selective logging took place in the early previous trips to Pureora and valuable brief accounts 1950s when peeler rimu logs for plywood manufac­ of these have been recorded in our Journal (Hynes ture were removed from what is now the Pikiariki 1969 Warren 1965 Mead 1972). Ecological Area. Much research was subsequently 44 Figure 1: Location of Pureora EXOTIC FORESTS From 1949 various exotic tree species were planted on the native forest cutovers and these plantations adjoining the Forest Park are today licensed to Rayonier New Zealand Limited (25%) in a joint venture with UBS Resource Investments Inter­ national (75%) under a Crown Forestry Licence or directly operated by the Department of Conservation or managed on behalf of Crown Forestry Management Ltd by New Zealand Forest Managers. In addition to the state owned exotic forest lands at Pureora Carter Holt Harvey Ltd manages radiata pine plantations on its own or leased Maori land including Pouakani and the Maraeroa C block (also known as the "KK" or Kokakotaia Block) comprising 5000 ha of radiata pine planted in 1975 76. The New Zealand Native Forests Restoration Trust proposed to the Government in 1987 that the state owned exotic Reproduced by permission of Land plantations at Pureora be replanted in native trees Information NZ: once they had been harvested. In October 1990 the Crown Copyright reserved. then Prime Minister Mike Moore agreed to this idea sitchensis) western red cedar {Thuja plicata) and and it was further supported in December 1991 by eucalypts {Eucalyptus regnans £ delegatensis). It is the new Prime Minister Jim Bolger (New Zealand managed by NZ Forest Managers (Turangi) on behalf Native Forests Restoration Trust 1992). of Crown Forestry Management Ltd. Again when these stands are clearfelled the intention is to The Pureora blocks are as follows: promote regeneration back to native forest. Some areas of Douglas fir were clearfelled recently but the Pureora North Block sites have quickly reverted to blackberry {Rubus An area of 702 ha at an altitude of 600 700 rn fruticosus). planted by the NZ Forest Service mainly 1970 1978 and now leased to the Rayonier UBS joint venture. Pureora Central Block (DOC areas) Under the condition of the Crown Forestry Licence Some 250 ha of plantations adjoining the Pikiariki once these exotic plantations have been harvested Ecological Area are directly managed by DOC. These tenure reverts to the Crown and they are supposedly include blocks of Corsican pine {Pinus nigra ssp. to be re established in native species by DOC rather laricio) and some Eucalyptus regnans near the Buried than replanted as exotic forest. The predominant Forest now viewed as valuable nurse crops for species here is radiata pine {Pinus radiata) together regenerating native forest. The New Zealand Native with some Douglas fir {Pseudotsuga menziesii) and Forests Restoration Trust has undertaken planting of muricata pine {Pinus muricata) adjoining Gully Road native trees to supplement natural regeneration. on the way to Pureora Lodge. This covers an area of 1056 ha predominantly Pureora Central Block Douglas fir planted 1965 75 at an altitude of 500 This is mainly flat to rolling terrain at an altitude of 700 rn on the eastern side of the Hauhungaroa 550 800 rn covering c. 3000 ha. The predominant Range with a rainfall of 1500 mm. This is also a species are Douglas fir and radiata pine with small Rayonier UBS joint venture forest which too is areas of Japanese cedar {Cryptomeria japonica) larch supposedly to be regenerated back to native forest {Larix europaea L. kaempferi) Sitka spruce {Picea when the exotic forest is eventually felled. 45 KARAMARAMA FROST FLATS AND SCRUBLANDS NEAR PUREORA LODGE The grassy flats and scrub near the lodge (Fig. 2) occupying a pumice terrace provided convenient and absorbing botanising. The grass areas retain patches of silver tussock {Poa cita) mountain oat grass (Deyeuxia avenoides) patiti {Microlaena stipoides) danthonia {Rytidosperma gracile) and holy grass {Hierochloe redolens) together with the introduced grasses browntop {Agrostis capillaris) sweet vernal {Anthoxanthum odoratum) and Yorkshire fog {Holcus lanatus) and purging flax {Linum catharticum). Figure 2: Karamarama frost flats and scrublands near Pureora Lodge merging into an ecotone of regenerating podocarps and mixed tawa and podocarp forest of the Waipapa Ecological Area. Common small matted shrubs are Pimelea prostrata Associated shrubs were manuka (Leptospermum sco­ Leucopogon fraseri and less frequently Androstoma parium) Olearia virgata ssp. centralis (a characteristic empetrifolia and Gaultheria macrostigma. The small tree on alluvial terraces) Coprosma sp.(t) introduced Spanish heath {Erica lusitanica) is well Aristotelia fruticosa Corokia cotoneaster Leucopogon established. Prominent herbs are Acaena novae­ fas ciculatus Hebe stricta var. stricta Raukaua zelandiae Celmisia gracilenta Gentiana grisebachii. anomalus Pittosporum tenuifolium ssp. colensoi and Gonocarpus micranthus ssp. micranthus Geranium Gaultheria antipoda. Beneath the shade of the taller microphyllum Helichrysum filicaule Oreomyrrhis shrubs could occasionally be found Pimelea tomen­ ramosa and the ubiquitous introduced catsear tosa and commonly several ferns and lycopods {Hypochoeris radicata). Damp spots often had Viola including Blechnum penna marina Sticherus cunning­ cunninghamii Nertera scapanioides Pratia angulata hamii Hypolepis rufobarbata Polystichum vestitum Gratiola sexdentata colonies of the four square Lycopodium volubile L. scariosum L deuteroden­ sedge Lepidosperma australe and cushions of sum and L. fastigiatum. Under a mountain toatoa Oreobolus pectinatus. {Phyllocladus alpinus) was found an impressive patch of completely terrestrial Tmesipteris elongata. The most characteristic shrubs of these cold flats and hollows at 400 500 m altitude are monoao {Draco­ The Pureora frost flats have been studied in detail by phyllum subulatum) and Coprosma propinqua the Smale (1990a 1990b). Unfortunately time did not latter attracting much attention by the spectacular permit us to visit the famous large frost flat in the crops of berries ranging in colour from translucent Waipapa Ecological Area known as the Taparoa white to wonderful shades of deep blue. Clearing. 46 WAIPAPA FOREST WALK This "1 hour" walk took us all morning such was the {Weinmannia racemosa). Damp hollows commonly diversity of plant life to be seen and studied. It is in had Coprosma rotundifolia.