A history of fire in the forest and rural landscape in New Zealand Part 1, pre-Maori and pre-European influences

Authors: Dennys Guild, Murray Dudfield
Publication: New Zealand Journal of Forestry, Volume N.Z.J.For. 2009, Issue N.Z.J.For. 54(1) 2009, pp 34-38, May 2009
Publisher: New Zealand Institute of Forestry

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Abstract: Introduction New Zealand has a much longer natural history than many people realize. From its very early “escape” from Gondwanaland, about 80 million years ago, to the present day, its history has been one long series of ups and downs. The distant origins of our unique flora and fauna lie buried in the depths of Gondwanaland (Gibbs 2007 and Poole 1987). Ancient ancestors of our native southern beech, podocarp and kauri forests, also developed and diversified in many other countries which were part of the Gondwanaland massif (Figure 1).

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