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The Cenozoic history of New Zealand temperate rainforests: comparisons with southern Australia and South America

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-18, 20:02 authored by Lee, DE, Lee, WG, Gregory JordanGregory Jordan, Barreda, VD
The temperate rainforests of southern hemisphere continents share Gondwanan antecedents, but subsequent trajectories exhibit divergent patterns. We review the Cenozoic history of major forest elements (c. 30 genera/families) of the temperate rainforests of New Zealand and compare these with South America and southeast Australia. From macro- and microfossil evidence, the major structural components of temperate rainforests in New Zealand have lineages dating back almost continuously to the Eocene or earlier. These include the tree ferns (Cyathea and Dicksonia), Agathis, all but one of the podocarps, Nothofagaceae and other broadleaved genera such as Lauraceae and Cunoniaceae. Collectively these taxa contribute approximately 50% of current biomass in New Zealand temperate forests. However, several previously important groups in the Cenozoic such as Araucaria, the Brassospora-type beeches, and Casuarinaceae became extinct in New Zealand in the Miocene to Pleistocene. Patterns of extinction are broadly similar in New Zealand and South America (mostly late Miocene to Pleistocene) in response to climate cooling along steepened environmental gradients whereas in southern Australia taxa became extinct later (Pleistocene) reflecting limited suitable habitat during glacials. The deep-time continuity evident in the composition of New Zealand temperate rainforests was not influenced by the decrease in land area during the maximum marine transgression in the late Oligocene (c. 25–24 million years ago). Forest canopy dominants and emergents appear to have remained remarkably stable, perhaps reflecting community resilience. However, new subcanopy and open habitat lineages arrived as forest taxa were extirpated and climates cooled, reducing potential forest habitats.

Funding

Australian Research Council

History

Publication title

New Zealand Journal of Botany

Volume

54

Pagination

100-127

ISSN

0028-825X

Department/School

School of Natural Sciences

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Place of publication

Po Box 399, Wellington, New Zealand

Rights statement

Copyright 2016 The Royal Society of New Zealand

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences

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