Disclaimer: The opinions and information provided in this report have been provided in good faith and on the basis that every endeavour has been made to be accurate and not misleading and to exercise reasonable care, skill and judgement in providing such opinions and information. The Author and NZFFA will not be responsible if information is inaccurate or not up to date, nor will we be responsible if you use or rely on the information in any way.
Article archive ». Home Login Register. In a nutshell Significant attention to establishment would be required, especially in steepland settings that are subject to wind exposure, low soil moisture levels and with poor soil depth. A nurse crop such as manuka would be required to successfully establish kauri on steep slopes and rotation length would be significantly longer than for faster-growing species. The family has three genera groups all naturally growing in the Southern Hemisphere.
They may be covered in lianes woody twining plants and epiphytes. When do the trees drop their lower branches? Kauri tree leaves are oblong in shape. They turn bright green as the tree grows. What colour are they when the tree is young? Why might there not be many trees of this size left? Skip to main content. Agathis Australis - Kauri. Contents: Standard. Next» Kauri - A National Taonga. Easy Version. The kauri family The New Zealand kauri Agathis australis belongs to one of the world's oldest family of conifers, the Araucariaceae ora-care-ree-a-see family.
A keystone species A keystone species is a plant or animal that has a special and important role in the way an ecosystem works. What kauri looks like Young kauri trees have a narrow pyramid shape like most conifers. Kauri naturally grow in forests throughout northern New Zealand. Image: Wikipedia. Kauri can grow by themselves or in dense stands. Kauri greenhood is a native orchid that only lives in kauri forest.
Image: Ian Mitchell. What causes the pattern? From about on, Europeans created a big market for the trees. Later it was used for just about everything — bridges, wharves, railway sleepers, houses, furniture, joinery, telegraph poles — at home and abroad. Many of the houses consumed in the great San Francisco fire of were made of New Zealand kauri. Generations of sawyers felled the trees until, by the year , only small patches of kauri forest remained standing.
Much kauri forest was simply burnt to clear the land for farming. Luckily, the Forest and Bird Protection Society organised big petitions in the s, and in , in the face of massive resistance from millers, the government set aside 15, hectares of kauri forest at Waipoua.
Other patches remain in Northland and in the Coromandel. So we can still see what the forests once looked like. As old branches fall off these trees or if the trunks are scratched or damaged, large quantities of resinous kauri gum flow out and run down the trunk. The gum was valuable in the nineteenth century on the European and American markets. Most of it was used for making varnish, but also as a substitute for amber and for making ornaments. The timber was valued for its strength and ability to withstand sea-water conditions ideal for ship masts and hulls.
Gum was largely collected from the ground, however, some was gathered by deliberately injuring or 'bleeding' trees. By , loggers had cleared most kauri forests. Kauri gum was also used, in varnishes, paint, linoleum and to create ornaments. Estimates of the extent of kauri forest before European settlement in New Zealand are between 1 million and 1. This was reduced to an estimated hectares 0. Or, f ind out about kauri dieback disease or how you can recognise the symptoms.
Open Menu. Programme Partners. How you can help.
0コメント