[3] It is the largest (by volume) but not tallest species of tree in New Zealand, standing up to 50 metres (160 ft) tall in the emergent layer above the forest's main canopy.

Agathis is derived from Greek and means 'ball of twine', a reference to the shape of the male cones, which are also known by the botanical term strobili.

By maturity, the top branches form an imposing crown that stands out over all other native trees, dominating the forest canopy.

The largest kauri trees did not attain as much height or girth at ground level but contain more timber in their cylindrical trunks than comparable Sequoias with their tapering stems.

The largest recorded specimen was known as The Great Ghost and grew in the mountains at the head of the Tararu Creek, which drains into the Hauraki Gulf just north of the mouth of the Waihou River (Thames).

This layer of the soil is composed of organic matter derived from falling leaves and branches as well as dead trees, and is constantly undergoing decomposition.

On the other hand, broadleaf trees such as māhoe derive a good fraction of their nutrition in the deeper mineral layer of the soil.

In a process known as leaching, these acidic molecules pass through the soil layers with the help of rainfall, and release other nutrients trapped in clay such as nitrogen and phosphorus.

As nutrients leached are replaced by aqueous nitrates and phosphates from above, the kauri tree is less able to inhibit the growth of strong competitors such as angiosperms.

In Waipoua Forest this is reflected in higher abundances of kauri on ridge crests, and greater concentrations of its main competitors, such as tarairi, at low elevations.

Those species which live alongside kauri include tawari, a montane broadleaf tree which is normally found in higher altitudes, where nutrient cycling is naturally slow.

During this time when frozen ice sheets covered much of the world's continents, kauri was able to survive only in isolated pockets, its main refuge being in the very far north.

Radiocarbon dating is one technique used by scientists to uncover the history of the tree's distribution, with stump kauri from peat swamps used for measurement.

In good conditions, where access to water and sunlight are above average, diameters in excess of 15 centimetres (5.9 in) and seed production can occur inside 15 years.

Kauri demand much more light and require larger gaps to regenerate than such broadleaf trees as pūriri and kohekohe that show far more shade tolerance.

Kauri trees must therefore remain alive long enough for a large disturbance to occur, allowing them sufficient light to regenerate.

In areas where large amounts of forest are destroyed, such as by logging, kauri seedlings are able to regenerate much more easily due not only to increased sunlight, but their relatively strong resistance to wind and frosts.

Over thousands of years these varying regeneration strategies produce a tug of war effect where kauri retreats uphill during periods of calm, then takes over lower areas briefly during mass disturbances.

Although such trends cannot be observed in a human lifetime, research into current patterns of distribution, behaviour of species in experimental conditions, and study of pollen sediments (see palynology) have helped shed light on the life history of kauri.

[30] The Government continued to sell large areas of kauri forests to sawmillers who, under no restrictions, took the most effective and economical steps to secure the timber, resulting in much waste and destruction.

[29][31] It is said that in 1890 the royalty on standing timber fell in some cases to as low as twopence (NZ$0.45 in 2003)[29] per 100 superficial feet (8 pence/m3), though the expense of cutting and removing it to the mills was typically great due to the difficult terrain where they were located.

The plan also involved considerable cost, requiring a long road to be driven up a steep high plateau into the heart of the protected area.

Although not as highly prized, the light colour of kauri trunk wood made it also well-suited for more utilitarian furniture construction, as well as for use in the fabrication of cisterns, barrels, bridge construction material, fences, moulds for metal forges, large rollers for the textile industry, railway sleepers and cross bracing for mines and tunnels.

[33] It is also conjectured that the process of carbon capture does not reach equilibrium, which along with no need of direct maintenance, makes kauri forests a potentially attractive alternative to short rotation forestry options such as Pinus radiata.

Its popularity with boatbuilders is due to its very long, clear lengths, its relatively light weight and its beautiful sheen when oiled or varnished.

The bark and the seed cones of the trees often survive together with the trunk, although when excavated and exposed to the air, these parts undergo rapid deterioration.

The small remaining pockets of kauri forest in New Zealand have survived in areas that were not subjected to burning by Māori and were too inaccessible for European loggers.

[36] The zoologist William Roy McGregor was one of the driving forces in this movement, writing an 80-page illustrated pamphlet on the subject, which proved an effective manifesto for conservation.

In 1921 philanthropic Cornishman James Trounson sold to the Government for £40,000 a large area adjacent to a few acres of Crown land and said to contain at least 4,000 kauri trees.

The team is charged with assessing the risk, determining methods and their feasibility to limit the spread, collecting more information (e.g. how widespread), and ensuring a coordinated response.