In the warmer northern climate, kauri forests have a higher species richness than those found further south. The enormous crown is nearly 35 m wide and has a dozen branches over 1 m in diameter, three greater than 2 m, and one over 3 m. Adding the wood in the crown brings the total wood volume up to 516.7 m3, making this tree just a bit larger than the largest known Thuja plicata. is preserved in peat swamps throughout the present distribution of the species in North Island, New Zealand. Smaller specimens have distinct black, purple or blue bark smooth and Somewhat flaky. Given that over 90 per cent of the area of kauri forest standing before 1000AD was destroyed by about 1900, it is not surprising that recent records are of smaller, but still very large trees. New Zealand Journal of Botany 37. As best I can determine, all very large trees that have died recently have had extensive internal rot, so precise ages for the largest trees may not be determinable. See the 15th largest kauri on the Coromandel Peninsula. Thames Historian Alastair Isdale says the tree was 8.54 metres in diameter, and 26.83 metres in girth. The bark and the seed cones of the trees often survive together with the trunk, although when excavated and exposed to the air, these parts undergo rapid deterioration. It has a pattern caused by the bark flaking off, known as hammer-mark bark. 1984. Although the kauri is among the most ancient trees in the world, it has developed a unique niche in the forest. Silvester, W. B. Download this stock image: Giant kauri tree, bark, Agathis australis, Waipoua Forest, North Island, New Zealand - E6WW6P from Alamy's library of millions of high … International journal of plant sciences 158(4):395. Population structures and tree growth rates in mature stands. As with most perennials, these feeding roots also house a symbiotic fungi known as mycorrhiza which increase the plant's efficiency in taking up nutrients. The best living specimen of the kauri is an ancient tree known as Tāne Mahuta (meaning 'Lord of the Forest' in Maori). It grows wider by growing cells outwards from the center. Kauri is not highly resistant to rot and when used in boatbuilding must be protected from the elements with paint, varnish or epoxy to avoid rot. Kauri forests are among the most ancient in the world. [10], Individuals in the same 10 cm diameter class may vary in age by 300 years, and the largest individual on any particular site is often not the oldest. Ecroyd, C. E. 1982. In good conditions, where access to water and sunlight are above average, diameters in excess of 15 centimetres and seed production can occur inside 15 years. On large trees it may pile up to a height of 2 m or more. New Zealand: N Island, Northland and Coromandel Peninsula, south to about lat. Intervening forests are dominated by taraire (Beilschmiedia tarairi) and kohekohe (Dysoxylum spectabile). 1986. They note that the forest occurs within the 13,000 ha Waipoua Forest Sanctuary and Waipoua Kauri Management and Research Area. kauri (Agathis australis) forests. The area has been very intensively controlled for exotic invasive predators (possums and mustelids, the bane of New Zealand wildlife), and thus affords an exceptionally pristine wildlife and flora as well.