Land use Data

Land use that results in a change from indigenous to exotic cover can cause biodiversity loss and reduce functioning of ecosystems. Using more land for agriculture, forestry, and urbanisation is the main driver reducing indigenous land cover across New Zealand.

Column headings:
area_ha = area of land cover measured in hectares

This dataset relates to the "Land use" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.

Farm size describes the area of large commercial properties (registered for goods and services tax) that farm crops and/or livestock. It is important to measure the extent of these agricultural activities because their size influences the extent of their impacts on soil health and water quality.

Column headings:
area_ha = total area of farming activity measured in hectares

This dataset relates to the "Farm size" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.

Livestock numbers reflect changes in the number of farmed beef and dairy cattle, deer, and sheep across New Zealand. Livestock farming is a widespread land use in this country. It is important to monitor livestock numbers, because concentrated numbers, or large increases in numbers, can affect the indigenous biodiversity, soil health, and water quality.

File contains total livestock numbers by region for each year over the period 1994–2015

Farm numbers describes the number of large commercial properties (registered for goods and services tax) that farm crops and/or livestock. It is important to measure the number of large farms involved in these agricultural activities because their extent determines their impacts on soil health and water quality.

Column headings:
num_farms = number of farms

This dataset relates to the "Farm numbers" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.

Livestock numbers reflect changes in the number of farmed beef and dairy cattle, deer, and sheep across New Zealand. Livestock farming is a widespread land use in this country. It is important to monitor this use because it can affect the indigenous biodiversity, soil health, and water quality.

Column headings:
numbers = numbers of animals

This dataset relates to the "Livestock numbers" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.

Dominant land uses in New Zealand include conservation (eg national and forestry parks), forestry (eg for timber resources/wood supply), urban (eg built up areas and open parkland), and agriculture and horticulture. Each land use places different pressures on the land and on receiving environments such as waterways. These pressures can be both positive (eg increased productivity) and negative (eg biodiversity loss and reduced functioning of ecosystems).

This measure reports on agricultural and horticultural land uses by region.

Livestock farming is a widespread land use in New Zealand and contributes to our economy. High livestock numbers and the distribution of livestock across land environments can affect indigenous biodiversity and soil health (eg compaction). High livestock numbers and density in some land environments can also affect water quality, as nitrogen and bacteria from urine and faeces can leach into groundwater or run off the land into rivers and lakes.

We measure changes in the numbers of farmed livestock (eg beef and dairy cattle, deer, and sheep) across regions in New Zealand.

One third of our land area is held as public conservation land and managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC) to protect natural and cultural heritage, retain areas of wilderness and enable recreation opportunities. Although the use of public conservation land makes an important socio-economic contribution at the local, regional and national level, increasing human activities on our protected areas can put pressure on these environments and degrade their cultural and aesthetic value. These activities can range from recreational users on our Great Walks to commercial activities such as guiding, grazing, or building structures.

This measure reports on the capacity and number of booked bed nights in huts and campsites on nine Great Walks operating in national parks, by walk, hut/campsite and month.

Land (whenua) is taonga tuku iho (cultural property, heritage) and of special importance to Māori. As the whakapūmautanga (legacy for the future), whenua provides for cultivation and storage of traditional foods and plants – for customary use and mahinga kai, and helps sustain each generation.

We report only on the available data we have, which cover a subset of Māori land used for primary production activities. We report on the number of livestock on maori-owned farms for main livestock types (eg farmed beef and dairy cattle, sheep, and deer) for the years 2006-16.

The number of farms involved in agricultural activities, and how they are changing, is important because agricultural activities can affect soil health and water.

Agricultural activities include beef and sheep, dairy, arable, horticulture, deer, pigs, and other livestock.