The vegetation of the Kaitake Range Egmont National Park, New Zealand

Abstract

The results of a vegetation survey of the Kaitake Range, part of Egmont National Park, are presented. More than ninety-five percent of the vegetation is native forest, the main types represented being dominated by kohekohe (Dysoxylum spectabile), tawa (Beilschmiedia tawa), and kamahi (Weinmannia racemosa) respectively. Forest composition changes mainly with increasing altitude but also differs on the landward and coastal slopes of the range. Likely contributing environmental factors are described. An annotated list of the 270 native vascular taxa noted during the survey is included. The flora and vegetation are compared with those of the remainder of Egmont National Park and the Egmont ring plain. The Kaitake Range is found to support the largest remnants oflowland and semicoastal forest types which covered the Egmont ring plalO before farmland development.