Abstract
Impacts on forests of infrequent disturbance events such as floods are not well understood in New Zealand. An extreme flood event in February 2004, Beilschmiedia tawa (tawa Lauraceae) initiated extensive mortality, studied via control and flooded plots in McPherson's Reserve, Turakina Valley. Canopy cover in Flooded plots reduced to Dacrycarpus dacrydioides were common post‐flood, but recruitment was poor, due to disturbance‐facilitated invasion of exotics. No comparable flood event has apparently occurred for 200 years. Recovery of the forest and its successional processes, if achievable, will be slow.