Plant Succession in Relation to a Sequence of Hydromorphic Soils Formed on Glacio‐fluvial Sediments in the Alpine Zone of the Ben Ohau Range, New Zealand

Abstract

Abstract Five plant communities arc described in relation to plant succession on a hydromorphic sequence of soils formed on recent moraine and glacio‐fluvial outwash. The communities progressed from pioneer colonisation, dominated by bryophytcs and Celmisia hectori , to a closed community dominated by Chlonochloa orcophila . Plant succession was marked by a gradual reduction of both calcium and magnesium, and pi I, and an increase in organic carbon. There was a decrease in calcium bound phosphorus, and an increase in both aluminium and iron surface bound phosphorus associated with gleyed soils, and a gradual increase of organic phosphorus. The hydromorphic soils were characterised by periodicity in the form of sedimentation and organic cycles.