EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Kauri Die-Back

Kauri (Agathis australis), Family Araucariaceae
Waipoua Forest, North Island, New Zealand

Explanation:  Found only in the far subtropical realms of Northland, North Island, New Zealand, is this utterly iconic tree of the forests:  the kauri.  Kauris are one of the largest and oldest trees, growing to over 160 ft (50 m) tall with diameters of up to 50 ft (16 m), and living to over 2,000 years old.  

Once common to New Zealand, however, they are now seriously imperiled from a fungus-like pathogen causing major kauri dieback.  The large dead and dying kauri trees in the photograph above shows how devastating this pathogen can be, which I encountered on a hike-in to Waipoua Forest on North Island.

These few healthy kauri trees are remnants of a once
much more extensive old-growth forest, and now
occur as superstory structures towering over
the rest of the forest.

Many tracks on North Island warn of the problem of kauri dieback disease, 
and urge visitors to "clean your gear" and "stay on trails" 
to help avoid spread of the disease.