Dispersal and Destruction of Seed in Central North Island Podocarp Forests

New Zealand has a similar history of logging, followed by the plough or fire, or similar disturbances. In addition, since all the ungulates have been introduced in a short time, biologically speaking, the native plants are generally ill-adapted to maintain themselves under heavy browsing pressure. An inevitable imbalance between animal numbers and the amount of available food has resulted. The eventual status of deer in New Zealand may be much the same as in Michigan: (1) browsing pressure by ungulates will continue strong for some time, resulting in changes in species composition of various plant communities; (2) continued control measures will reduce deer numbers and inevitably an altered flora and fauna will evolve (some native species probably becoming rare or extinct); (3) eventually a balance between plant and animal numbers (probably artificially depressed by shooting) will occur; (4) political and social problems will continue to play an important role in natural resource management. REFERENCES