Biome_Guide.txt

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THE WHAT-THE-#%^&@-IS-GOING-ON-IN-THAT-BIOME GUIDE

This is a working document to help figure out what species belong where.

Caution, may or may not match with what actually got done.

Forest Structure

Dominant Emergent:
Rare Emergent:
Dominant Canopy:
Rare Canopy:
Sub-canopy:
Rare Sub-canopy:
Ground cover:
Rare ground cover:
Decorations:


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--MANTLE
These occassionally turn up in caves near the bottom of basement rock level.
This is about the  depth at which drilling deeper is actually impossible.

--cold mantle
Some volcanic sand to go 'Ohhhh Volcanoey!''

--wet mantle
boiling mud

--mantle
lava

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--BASEMENT ROCKS
The deep underlying rocks of the country. Self-explanatory.
Greywacke hitting the plate boundary and being turned into schist, then gneiss.
And some random granite.

--greywacke_basement

--schist_basement

--gneiss_basement

--granite_basement



------------------------------------------------------------
--MARINE
Deeper oceans.
This also controls the shallow rocks.
Sediment based on charts. The actual rock they should really have isn't always clear.

--kermadec_ocean
e.g. The volcanic kermadec islands. Sub Tropical.

--north_eastern_ocean
e.g. Coromandel, BoP
Warm.
Muddy.

--west_coast_north_ocean
e.g. Taranaki, Waikato
Warmish, wet?
Sandy.


--east_coast_north ocean
e.g. Hawkes bay
Muddy.
Dry.

--north_cook_straight
e.g. Wellington
Muddy.


--south_cook_straight
e.g. Marlborough
Sandy (could also have done muddy)


--west_coast_south_ocean
-e.g. west_coast
Muddy.
Wet.

--east_coast_south_ocean
e.g. Canterbury
Muddy.
Dry


--fiordland_ocean
e.g. fiordland
Muddy.
Cold and wet.


--southern_ocean
e.g. Otago, Stewart Island
gravel
Cold


--subantarctic_ocean
e.g. subantarctic
gravel
Cold


----------------------------------------------------
--SEASHORE
Beach and shallow waters. No plants, except extreme salt tolerant plants.

--Sandy Beach.
generic sandy Beach
flora: spinifex, pingao
Aquatic: pipi beds.

--Shelly Beach.
generic shelly Beach
Aquatic: pipi beds.

--Gravel Beach
generic pebble Beach
Aquatic: pipi beds.

--subantarctic_shore
harsh bare rock coast
decorations: boulders, gravel

--volcanic_isle_shore
White Island volcanic coast

--volcanic_field
basaltic/scoria volcanism e.g Rangitoto island.
For simplicity, done as a "fresh" lava field.
So no life, extends into lowland with no difference in soils etc
decorations: boulders

--iron_sand_beach
e.g. North West Coast black sand beaches
flora: spinifex, pingao
Aquatic: pipi beds.

--Northern Estuary
mud and warm enough for mangroves
Flora: mangroves.


--Southern Estuary
mudflats. Too cold for mangroves.
(needs: seagrass (Zostera muelleri),? ought to be underwater )


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--DUNELANDS
Coastal, but out of reach of waves. e.g. mid to back dunes.


--Pohutukawa Dunes
Dunes with occasional pohutukawa trees.
Ground cover: pohuehue, wiwi, flax, spinifex, pingao
Sub-canopy: clumps of cabbage tree, and karo,
Canopy: sparse pohutukawa
(To add?: coastal toetoe (Cortarderia splendis), sand coprosma, ngaio)


--Sand dunes
Generic sand dunes. Too cold for pohutukawa,
Ground cover: pohuehue, wiwi, flax, spinifex, pingao
Sub-canopy: clumps of cabbage tree, and karo,
Canopy:
(To add?: coastal toetoe (Cortarderia splendis), sand coprosma, ngaio)


--Iron Sand dunes
Iron sand dunes. Too cold for pohutukawa.
Ground cover: pohuehue, wiwi, flax, spinifex, pingao
Sub-canopy: clumps of cabbage tree, and karo,
Canopy:
(To add?: coastal toetoe (Cortarderia splendis), sand coprosma, ngaio)


--Salt Marsh
Coastal wetlands.
Ground cover: sea_rush,
(needs: Plagianthus divaricatus, oioi)


--Gravel dunes
Generic gravel dunes. Cold and dry.
Ground cover: flax, wiwi,
Sub-canopy: karo,
(needs: mingimingi)
(to add?: Griselinia littoralis. Calystegia soldanella (bindweed). Cyperus ustulatus (cutty grass). )


--subantarctic_coast
Extreme cold and wet e.g. Auckland islands.
Herbfield. An extreme place. Extend altitude in coastal forest.
Ground cover: a little bit of moss above salt line.
(needs:megaherbs. tussock - Poa litorosa (done tree-like?)?, Muttonbird Poa (Poa foliosa))



--white_island
"Volcanic dunes". Something vaguely like the active volcano of White island.
Extends into lowland forest.
Lifeless.
Decorations: mudpools
(need: fumaroles)



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-- COASTAL FORESTS

--Pohutukawa Forest
Warm coastal forest.
Dominant Emergent: na
Rare Emergent: na
Dominant Canopy: dense pohutukawa
Rare Canopy: karaka
Sub-canopy: karo,
Rare Sub-canopy: kawakawa, cabbage_tree, nikau palm
Ground cover: bracken
Rare ground cover: flax, bracken
Decorations:
(needs: Wharawhara (Astelia banksii), poa anceps)
(to add? hangehange, houpara, )




-- Coastal Scrub
Too cold for pohutukawa. Also extends into lowlands as areas of decent farmland.
Treating this like a cleared/burnt/semi-settled area. Gives open space from the forest.
Would otherwise be occupied by some variant of coastal forest.
Dominant Emergent: na
Rare Emergent: na
Dominant Canopy: ...
Rare Canopy: groves of karaka, -kowhai,
Sub-canopy: clumps of karo, and  manuka,
Rare Sub-canopy: nikau palm, cabbage tree,
Ground cover: wiwi, bracken,
Rare ground cover: flax
Decorations:
(needs: mingimingi?, ngaio?,Tauhinu, kanuka, a native grass)



--Muttonbird Scrub
Wet and cold. Vaguely sub-subantarctic/southern. The kind of place muttonbirds burrow.
Dominant Emergent: na
Rare Emergent: na
Dominant Canopy:
Rare Canopy: kamahi
Sub-canopy: common_tree_daisy,
Rare Sub-canopy:
Ground cover: leatherwood,
Rare ground cover: wiwi, moss, crown fern
Decorations:
(needs: southern rata, Brachyglottis rotundifolia (muttonbird scrub) )
(to add?:Tauhinu, Olearia lyallii, muttonbird burrow(dirt block, dig for muttonbird)?)


--Coastal Tussock land
Cold and dry. South Island.
Dominant Emergent: na
Rare Emergent:na
Dominant Canopy:na
Rare Canopy: na
Sub-canopy: manuka, matagouri, cabbage_tree, nikau,
Rare Sub-canopy:
Ground cover: kokomuka, dense red tussock, dense flax,
Rare ground cover:
Decorations:




------------------------------
--WETLANDS


--kahikatea_swamp
Forested swamp.

Dominant Emergent: kahikatea
Rare Emergent:
Dominant Canopy:
Rare Canopy:
Sub-canopy: cabbage_tree,
Rare Sub-canopy:
Ground cover: flax, moss,
Rare ground cover:
Decorations: rotten stumps
(needs: sedges Carex virgata, Pukatea, mingimingi,)
(to add? bush lawyer, Coprosma tenuicaulis, Syzygium maire, Astelia grandis)



--raupo_swamp
Muddy, open swamp. Lake edge sort of stuff.
Ground cover: raupo


--gumland
Northland podzol. Former kauri forest. Hardpan makes it a wetland. Heath vegetation.

Rare Emergent:na
Dominant Canopy:na
Rare Canopy:na
Sub-canopy:
Rare Sub-canopy: manuka
Ground cover: manuka leaves, moss
Rare ground cover:
Decorations: stumps
(needs:tangle fern Gleichenia dicarpa,Dracophyllum lessonianum, Schoenus brevifolius,  )
(to add?: tamingi,Machaerina teretifolia)


--Fen
Fertile version of peat bog.
Rare Sub-canopy: manuka
Ground cover: flax
Rare ground cover: moss
Decorations: stumps
(needs: tangle fern Gleichenia dicarpa,sedge)
(to add?: ..)


--Peat bog
Deep lowland peatland.
Ground cover: moss
(needs:Sporadanthus ferrugineus,tangle fern, )
(to add?: tamingi)


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-- LOWLAND FORESTS
(to add: more ground ferns - hounds tounge, hen and chicken..., )
shrubs;Coprosma robusta,Pseudopanax arboreus, Schefflera digitata

--kauri_forest
Northern forest. Warm enough for kauri and other warm loving species.
Dense kauri dominated canopy.
Dominant Emergent: kauri
Rare Emergent: all podocarps.
Dominant Canopy:
Rare Canopy: kowhai, tawa, hinau,
Sub-canopy:kawakawa, mahoe,
Rare Sub-canopy: rangiora, nikau, cabbage_tree, all tree ferns,
Ground cover: kauri grass,
Rare ground cover: kiokio, moss,
Decorations: stumps,
(to add?: Gahnia xanthocarpa, kiekie, puriri, kohekohe)



--northern_podocarp
Northern. Pure podocarp forest. Restricted to lower areas where podos would dominate.
Mainly for the sake of contrast. Totara dominated.
Dense but more open understory.
Dominant Emergent: totara
Rare Emergent: all podocarps.
Dominant Canopy:
Rare Canopy:
Sub-canopy:
Rare Sub-canopy: kawakawa, mahoe, rangiora, nikau, cabbage_tree, all tree ferns,
Ground cover: kiokio,
Rare ground cover: moss,
Decorations: stumps,


--tawa_forest
Too cold for Kauri. Northern podocarp broadleaf forest. Wetter.
Dominant Emergent:
Rare Emergent: all podocarps.
Dominant Canopy: tawa
Rare Canopy: hinau, black maire, kamahi, kowhai,
Sub-canopy:kawakawa, mahoe,
Rare Sub-canopy:  rangiora, nikau, cabbage_tree, all tree ferns,
Ground cover: kiokio,
Rare ground cover: moss,
Decorations: stumps,



--maire_forest
Too cold for Kauri. Northern podocarp broadleaf. Drier.
Dominant Emergent:
Rare Emergent: all podocarps.
Dominant Canopy: black maire,
Rare Canopy: hinau, tawa, kamahi, kowhai, black beech
Sub-canopy:kawakawa, mahoe,
Rare Sub-canopy:  rangiora, nikau, cabbage_tree, all tree ferns,
Ground cover: kiokio,
Rare ground cover: moss,
Decorations: stumps,


--southern_podocarp
South. Pure podocarp forest. Restricted to lower areas where podos would dominate.
Mainly for the sake of contrast. Rimu dominated.
Dense but more open understory.
Dominant Emergent: rimu
Rare Emergent: all podocarps.
Dominant Canopy:
Rare Canopy:
Sub-canopy:
Rare Sub-canopy: mahoe, rangiora, nikau, cabbage_tree, all tree ferns,
Ground cover: kiokio,
Rare ground cover: moss,
Decorations: stumps,



--hinau (lowland, mid-cold,)
Southern broadleaf podocarp forest. Wetter.
Dominant Emergent:
Rare Emergent: all podocarps.
Dominant Canopy: hinau,
Rare Canopy: black maire, kamahi, kowhai, black_beech
Sub-canopy: mahoe,
Rare Sub-canopy:  rangiora, nikau, cabbage_tree, all tree ferns,
Ground cover: kiokio,
Rare ground cover: moss,
Decorations: stumps,
(needs: a southern shrub)


--beech forest
Southern, drier forest. Beech dominated lowland.
Beech forest typically doesn't mingle with conifer-broadleaf forest.
But a little overlap can occur.
Dominant Emergent:
Rare Emergent: all podocarps (bar kahikatea).
Dominant Canopy: black_beech
Rare Canopy:  kamahi, kowhai, hinau
Sub-canopy:
Rare Sub-canopy:  silver_fern, wheki,mahoe,
Ground cover: crown_fern
Rare ground cover: moss,
Decorations: stumps,
(needs: red beech and/or hard beech, a southern shrub)
Coprosma foetidissima?




-------------------
--Fiordland Forest
Very cold and wet. Silver beech dominated. Too extreme for many of the species in other forests.
Southern, drier forest. Beech dominated lowland.
Dominant Emergent:
Rare Emergent: all podocarps (bar miro).
Dominant Canopy: silver beech
Rare Canopy:  kamahi,
Sub-canopy:
Rare Sub-canopy: wheki,
Ground cover: moss, crown_fern
Rare ground cover:
Decorations: stumps,



--kamahi forest.
"Goblin forest". Wet higher altitude. Dominated by kamahi.
Dominant Emergent:
Rare Emergent: rimu, miro
Dominant Canopy: kamahi,
Rare Canopy: silver_beech, mt_beech, hinau, maire
Sub-canopy:
Rare Sub-canopy: wheki, mahoe, rangiora
Ground cover: moss,
Rare ground cover: crown fern, kiokio,
Decorations: dense stumps,

Pseudopanax arboreus?



------------------------------------
--SHRUBLANDS

--broadleaf_scrub
Wetter Regenerating forest. Dominated by tree ferns, various broadleaf species.
Height limited. Make it an extension of coastal scrub.
Dominant Emergent:na
Rare Emergent: na
Dominant Canopy: ,
Rare Canopy: kowhai
Sub-canopy: mahoe, rangiora, dense wheki,
Rare Sub-canopy:  cabbage_tree,silver_fern,mamaku,
Ground cover: bracken
Rare ground cover: kiokio, moss
Decorations: dense stumps,
(To add?: Aristotelia serrata, five finger, pigeonwood, Pittosporum tenuifolium, tree fuchsia, Schefflera digitata,Coprosma lucida,)


--geothermal_scrub
Rotorua style. Forest recovering from volcanoes, with various geothermal features.
Similar to broadleaf/manuka scrub, make a bit sparser so can see geothermal stuff.
Height limited. Geothermal stuff is best on flat lower areas.
Dominant Emergent:na
Rare Emergent: na
Dominant Canopy: ,
Rare Canopy: kowhai
Sub-canopy:
Rare Sub-canopy: mahoe, rangiora, manuka, mamaku, cabbage_tree, wheki,silver_fern,
Ground cover: bracken
Rare ground cover: kiokio, flax, moss
Decorations: dense stumps, mudpools (low)


--Manuka scrub
Drier Regenerating forest. Manuka dominated.
Dominant Emergent:na
Rare Emergent: na
Dominant Canopy: ,
Rare Canopy:
Sub-canopy: dense manuka,
Rare Sub-canopy: wheki,silver_fern,
Ground cover: bracken, crown fern
Rare ground cover: kiokio,
Decorations: dense stumps,
(needs: kanuka)





--Matagouri scrub
South Island Tussock land. Cold and dry. Some matagouri here and there.

Sub-canopy:
Rare Sub-canopy: matagouri
Ground cover: red tussock
Rare ground cover:
Decorations:
(to add?:)



--------------------------------
--HIGHLAND


--pahautea_forest
Rare Emergent: na
Dominant Canopy: pahautea,
Rare Canopy: kamahi
Sub-canopy:
Rare Sub-canopy: tree daisy
Ground cover: moss
Rare ground cover: leatherwood
Decorations: dense stumps,
(needs: ground cover...it's something spikey. shrubs)



--rangipo_desert
Central plateau volcanic wasteland.
Raised bottom alt a bit to allow montane forest at lower borders.
Ground cover: bristle tussock
Rare ground cover:
(to add?:raoulia )



--mountain beech
Southern montane forest.
Rare Emergent: na
Dominant Canopy: mountain_beech
Rare Canopy: silver_beech, kamahi
Sub-canopy:
Rare Sub-canopy:
Ground cover: moss, crown_fern
Rare ground cover: leatherwood
Decorations: dense stumps,
(needs:)



--Mountain tussock
Alpine tussock, and some shrubs. Extend a little into higher alt.
Ground cover: red tussock, leatherwood
Rare ground cover: bristle tussock, moss
(to add: spaniards, vegetable sheep)



--alpine peat bog
Alpine version of peat bog.
Ground cover: moss
(to add: Donatia novae-zelandiae, cushion bog plants )


--scree
Unstable gravel slopes.
Ground cover:
(to add: rare scree plants)


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--ALPINE
--on the way from forest to icy death


--fellfield
Herbs and rocks. Too extreme for much else to grow.
Some leatherwood at bottom range, to ease transition from forest.
Ground cover: bristle_tussock
Rare ground cover: moss,
Decorations: boulders, gravel
(to add?:edielwies Leucogenes grandiceps,vegetable sheep (Haastia pulvinaris))




----------------
--HIGH ALPINE.

--alpine_snow
Permanent snow and ice.

--glacier
Ice. Altitude extends down a bit

--volcano
Similar to rangipo, but colder. Extend down to meet rangipo.