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.

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.

This data measures the numbers of farmed livestock (dairy and beef cattle, deer, and sheep) over time across New Zealand.

Livestock farming is a widespread land use in New Zealand and is a large contributor to our economy. High livestock numbers and the distribution of livestock across land environments can affect indigenous biodiversity and soil health (eg through erosion, habitat loss, compaction, and nutrient concentration). Water quality can also be adversely affected, as nutrients, sediment, and bacteria from urine and faeces can leach or run off the land into rivers, lakes, and groundwaters. This can affect the health of the aquatic ecosystem, as well as recreation and cultural values associated with rivers and lakes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. The main land use types covered are grassland, forest plantation, bush and scrub, and horticulture.

The area of farms involved in agricultural activities, and how this is 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.

This dataset shows the total irrigated agricultural land area across New Zealand for 2002 and 2017. Agricultural land irrigated in 2017 is broken down by types of irrigation systems and farm type.

Although it enables and improves farming, irrigation can also have adverse consequences relating to recreation, and can increase pollution and leaching of contaminants into waterways. Irrigation can affect the natural form and character of land (eg dry land to greener and wetter land), fishing, cultivation and food production, animal drinking water, water supply, commercial and industrial water use, and hydro-electric power generation. More irrigated land, and more water abstraction, can place increased pressure on river flows, as well as indirectly increasing pressure on land and fresh water by enabling increased agricultural intensity.

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.