Land use Data

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.

DATA SOURCE: Statistics New Zealand Agricultural Production Survey (APS)

Adapted by Ministry for the Environment and Statistics New Zealand to provide for environmental reporting transparency

Dataset used to develop the "Agricultural and horticultural land use" indicator (available at www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/agricultural-and-hort...)

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This indicator reports on the use of land for primary production purposes, specifically agricultural land uses, such as beef and sheep farming and dairying, horticultural land uses, such as fruit and berry, and vegetable growing, and other land uses, such as forestry. We do this for the period 2002 to 2019.

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.

DATA SOURCE: Statistics New Zealand Agricultural Production Survey (APS)

Adapted by Ministry for the Environment and Statistics New Zealand to provide for environmental reporting transparency

Dataset used to develop the "Farm numbers and size" indicator [available at www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/farm-numbers-and-size]

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We present the number and area of farms in New Zealand and by region from 2002 to 2019.

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.

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.

DATA SOURCE: Statistics New Zealand Agricultural Production Survey (APS)

Adapted by Ministry for the Environment and Statistics New Zealand to provide for environmental reporting transparency

Dataset used to develop the "livestock numbers" indicator [available at www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/livestock-numbers]

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This indicator measures the numbers of farmed dairy cattle, beef cattle, deer, and sheep over time nationally, by region, and territorial authority, and approximates the density of these livestock across New Zealand.

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.

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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.

DATA SOURCE: National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)

Adapted by Ministry for the Environment and Statistics New Zealand to provide for environmental reporting transparency

Dataset used to develop the "Far fertiliser applied" indicator [available at statisticsnz.shinyapps.io/farm_fertiliser_ap...]

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This indicator reports industry estimates of nitrogen and phosphorus (as elements) sold in fertiliser products nationally from 1991 to 2019.

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.

DATA SOURCE: Statistics New Zealand, Agriculture Production Survey (APS)

Adapted by Ministry for the Environment and Statistics New Zealand to provide for environmental reporting transparency

Dataset used to develop the "Irrigated land" indicator [available at www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/irrigated-land]

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This indicator measures the total irrigated agricultural land area across New Zealand for 2002, 2017 and 2019. We report on total irrigated land area on farms earnings over $60,000 a year by region and dominant farm type. In 2017 and 2019 we also report on total irrigated land by land use and irrigation system.

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.

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.

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.

This measure reports on the number of active recreation and non-recreation concessions by activity in each financial year, and the number of active concession operators (concessionaires) by activity in each financial year.