exclosure

Seventeen exclosures were built by the New Zealand Forest Service within Urewera forests over the period 1961-68 to exclude ungulates. Forest structure and species composition inside and outside these exclosures were compared in 1980-81. Some relatively shade tolerant species such as the fern Asplenium bulbiferum, the liane Ripogonum scandens, the sub-canopy shrubs Geniostoma ligus,Trifolium and Coprosma australis and the canopy species Beilschmiedia tawa were less abundant in certain tiers outside the exclosures than inside.

This study uses data from repeatedly measured forest monitoring plots (20 × 20 m) (n = 32) and nine ungulate exclosures (paired fenced and unfenced plots; 20 × 20 m) to show the effects of introduced ungulates on tree regeneration in Pureora Forest Park, central North Island, between 974 and 2002.