The delineation of natural areas in New Zealand: The distribution of beech forests

[First paragraph(s)...]
An account of the distribution of any vegetation presupposes a satisfactory classification of it. Excepting a few small areas, no detailed analyses have been made of our plant communities; rather have we depended upon a somewhat general approach, following Cockayne who classified forests into communities named from their physiognomic dominants. He also drew attention to changes brought about by succession and maintained that changes, brought about by time, were the result of succession.
As a working classification Cockayne's forest communities serve their purpose but his theory of succession left much to be answered. J. T. Holloway introduced an hypothesis of comparatively rapid changes taking place within forests because of changes in climate ("Forests and Climate in the South Island of New Zealand," 1954) which must somewhat alter Cockayne's classification. Holloway who was working on a forest survey used "forest type" . . . "as being a simple forester's term denoting any clearly distinct unit of forest vegetation." According to his hypothesis a forest community or type could owe its presence to the invasion of one community by another, and not to succession "in situ.