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"The vegetation on scoria cones, such as Otuataua, once consisted of
abundant, large ferns and areas of trees and shrubs...
Today, only a few pockets of rock forest remain. These remnants are some of
the few remaining examples of native vegetation in the Mangere area. They
are also examples of only a handful of remnant rock forests in the Auckland
region..."
"The remnants of two fossil forests are located 500 to 1500 metres to the
south-west of the Reserve... The older forest consists of the stumps and
trunks of an ancient kauri forest, which was buried and preserved in peat
swamp. More recently, about 30,000 years ago, a
younger forest was growing
on the peat when it was covered and preserved beneath volcanic ash from the
nearby Maungataketake Volcano (Ellett's Mountain). This forest consisted
primarily of rimu, miro, hinau,
kauri and tanekaha. Pohutukawa and coastal
forest are located along the low coastal cliffs today."
(Manukau City Council Otuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve Draft Management
Plan)
This material has been produced by UNITEC Institute of Technology
under contract to the Ministry of Education.
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