Beech forest, Arthur’s Pass National Park

Beech forest, Arthur’s Pass National Park

In the South Island, beech forests (Nothofagus) dominate the cooler mountain ranges, and are found from north-west Nelson to southern Fiordland. Forests such as this one are usually a mix of the four indigenous beech species (red, silver, hard, and mountain or black). Pure stands of one species are rare. As a rule, beech forests are more open and easier to walk through than the thicker podocarp-broadleaf forests.