Ecology
A rich Northern rātā/Rimu/Broadleaf forest is present, although the entire park ecosystem displays distinct patterns of vegetative zonation - the former two large species of tree are common at lower elevations whereas Kamahi tends to dominate the stunted high altitude forest. In these old growth forests the Crown Fern, Blechnum discolor, is a dominant understory plant species.
The character of the plant communities continues to change with increasing altitude, to subalpine and alpine shrublands at high elevations, which are in stark contrast to the surrounding pasture farmlands. Notable among the geographical features of the park is its clear radial drainage pattern, which can be discerned in the satellite picture at right.
The Ahukawakawa swamp is a rare high-altitude (920m) sphagnum moss wetland located between Mt Taranaki and the Pouakai range. It contains many endemic species adapted to acid soils and low temperatures.
Read more about this topic: Egmont National Park
Famous quotes containing the word ecology:
“... the fundamental principles of ecology govern our lives wherever we live, and ... we must wake up to this fact or be lost.”
—Karin Sheldon (b. c. 1945)