Oceania Environmental Reporting Data - Page 8

"The pressure from animal and plant pests is one of the biggest threats to biodiversity in the land environment. Pest predators (such as stoats and possums) eat eggs, birds, lizards, insects, and snails. Other animal pests (such as deer and goats) damage and kill trees and other plants and can compete with indigenous animals for the plants’ fruit and seed. Pest plants can out-grow the local vegetation. All these activities can dramatically change both our indigenous and agricultural environments.

This data set relates to the "Land pests" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website."

These data estimate the occurence of extreme wave events in coastal and oceanic waters for 2009, particularly for wave events where significant wave height exceeds a threshold of 4 metres and for a period of at least 12 hours. Significant wave height is defined as four times the square root of the variance of sea surface elevation due to wave motion.

This index was generated using NIWA’s operational wave forecasting model NZWAVE-12.

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

"At high concentrations, nitrate–nitrogen may have health impacts where it is for untreated drinking water, and it is also plant nutrient which can contribute to excessive plant and algae growth, potentially damaging the ecological health of rivers and lakes.
Ammoniacal nitrogen can be toxic to fish, animals and people at moderate concentrations.
Nitrate can be an indicator of general groundwater degradation as often it is accompanied by other pollutants from human activities, such as faecal pathogens and pesticides.

Dissolved reactive phosphorus is a plant nutrient which can contribute to excessive plant and algae growth, damaging the ecological health of rivers and lakes if it enters surface water.
Surplus phosphorus can originate on land from fertilizer or animal manure, where it can be drained or leached into groundwater as dissolved reactive phosphorus. It can also occur naturally in aquifers as a result of water–rock interaction.

This dataset relates to the "Groundwater quality: phosphorus" and "Groundwater quality: nitrogen" measures on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website. "

Rain is vital for life – it supplies the water we need to drink and to grow our food, keeps our ecosystems healthy, and supplies our electricity. New Zealand’s mountainous terrain and location in the roaring forties mean rainfall varies across the country. Changes in rainfall amount or timing can significantly affect agriculture, energy, recreation, and the environment. For example, an increase or decrease of rainfall in spring can have marked effects on crops or fish populations.
More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

Water clarity is a measure of underwater visibility in rivers and stream. Water clarity can be reduced by the presence of fine particles like silt, mud or organic material in the water. This affects the habitat and feeding of aquatic life like fish and aquatic birds. Water clarity is an important indicator of the health of a waterway, and is also a consideration for recreational activities like swimming and wading.
This dataset relates to the "River water quality trends: clarity" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.

"Freshwater plant and animal pests can have significant negative impacts on ecosystem health by reducing indigenous biodiversity through predation and competition, and destabilising aquatic habitats. Freshwater plant pests can cause economic losses through blocking water intakes for hydroelectricity generation, impeded drainage or irrigation. In addition, pests can affect the suitability for recreational activities.
This dataset relates to the ""Freshwater pests"" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website. "

"Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plant growth. It occurs naturally, but in agricultural systems more nitrogen is commonly added to soils as fertiliser or from livestock waste. Not all the additional nitrogen can be taken up by plants. Some nitrogen will drain (leach) as nitrate from the soil and can enter waterways, potentially causing ecological harm. The amount of nitrate leaching from the soil varies around the country, as a result of different land uses, climates, and soils.
This dataset relates to the ""Geographic pattern of agricultural nitrate leaching"" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website. "

The average concentration of chlorophyll-a (chl-a) in phytoplankton over the period 1997–2014.
Concentrations of chl-a in phytoplankton are used to assess primary productivity in our oceans. Phytoplankton are primary producers of biomass and form the basis of the oceans’ food chains.

New Zealand’s four million km2 marine environment is diverse, with a range of coastal habitats and offshore seabed environments. There are also many marine species unique to New Zealand. Marine protected areas conserve or manage some of these unique habitats and species, while a range of other tools also provide marine protection. We report on the area covered by these tools as an indirect measure to understand the state of the marine environment.
Marine mammal sanctuaries are one of the marine protection tools used. They are designed to protect New Zealand’s unique range of marine mammals by reducing harmful human impacts, particularly in vulnerable areas such as migratory routes and breeding grounds. Each marine mammal sanctuary has a specific set of restrictions based on the species that occupy, or pass through that particular area.

"Freshwater plant and animal pests can have significant negative impacts on ecosystem health by reducing indigenous biodiversity through predation and competition, and destabilising aquatic habitats. Freshwater plant pests can cause economic losses through blocking water intakes for hydroelectricity generation, impeded drainage or irrigation. In addition, pests can affect the suitability for recreational activities.
This dataset relates to the ""Freshwater pests"" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website. "