The Tongariro National Park is a rough and partly unstable environment. To the north and west of the park, a podocarp-broadleaf rain forest near Lake Taupō stretches over an area of 30 km2, and up to an elevation of 1000 m. In this rain forest live Hall's totara (Podocarpus laetus), kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides), kamahi (Weinmannia racemosa), pahautea (Libocedrus bidwillii), and numerous epiphytic ferns, orchids, and fungi. Pahautea trees can be found further on up to a height of 1530 m, where they cover 127.3 km2. On this level, one can also find a 50 km2 beech forest, containing red (Nothofagus fusca), silver (Nothofagus menziesii) and mountain beech (Nothofagus solandri var cliffortioides). Understory species within the forests include ferns such as crown fern (Blechnum discolor) as well as shrub species. There is also a 95 km2 area of scrubland, containing kanuka (Leptospermum ericoides), manuka (Leptospermum scoparium), celery-top pine (Phyllocladus aspleniifolius), inaka (Dracophyllum longifolium), woolly fringe moss (Rhacomitrium lanuginosum), small beeches and introduced heather. To the northwest, and around Mount Ruapehu, between an altitude of 1200 and 1500 m, tussock shrubland and tussock grass covers large areas (around 150 km2), consisting mainly of New Zealand red tussock grass (Chionochloa rubra), inaka, curled leaved neinei (Dracophyllum recurvum), wire rush (Empodisma minus), and bog rush (Schoenus pauciflorus), as well as heather and grasses like hard tussock (Festuca novaezelandiae) and bluegrass (Poa colensoi). Above 1500 m, the terrain consists of gravel and stone fields and is accordingly unstable. Nevertheless, some plants occasionally settle there, such as curled leaved neinei, snow totara (Podocarpus nivalis), mountain snowberry (Gaultheria colensoi), bristle tussock (Rytidosperma setifolium), bluegrass and Raoulia albosericea, which cover an area of 165 km2. Between 1700 and 2020 m there are some isolated Parahebe species, Gentiana bellidifolia and buttercups. Above 2200 m live only crustose lichens. Fauna There are 56 significant species of birds, such as rare endemic species like the North Island brown kiwi, kākā, blue duck, North Island fernbird, double-banded plover and New Zealand falcon/kārearea. Other bird species common to the park are tui, New Zealand bellbird, morepork/ruru, grey warbler/riroriro, fantail, whitehead/pōpokotea and silvereye. The park also features the only two native mammals of New Zealand, the short- and long-tailed bat. The Tongariro National Park also teems with insects like moths and wētā. Also present in the park, as well as the whole of New Zealand, are animals introduced by Europeans, such as black rats,